the oysters in a tub that will not leak, with their mouths upwards and feed them with the above, by dipping in a broom and frequently passing over their mouths. It is said that they will fatten still more by mixing fine meal with the water.—Mrs. R——.
To Cook Crabs.
Take live crabs and put them in cool water, let them remain for half an hour. Then put them in a vessel, pour boiling water on them sufficient to cover them; boil ten minutes. Take them off and wipe them clean, first removing the dead men, and proceed to remove the meat. Take the upper shell, clean it. Season the meat with pepper, salt, mustard, and plenty of butter; put all in the shell again and bake half an hour.—Mrs. K. Norfolk.
Crab Stew.
One peck live crabs, steam twenty minutes, bone and pick the claws and bodies. Stew with one pint milk or cream, the flesh and eggs of the crabs, fifteen minutes. Flavor with salt and cayenne pepper.—Mrs. R. L. O.
Devilled Crab.
After crabs are picked, season with mustard, pepper, salt, and catsup to taste. Add olive oil or butter.
Cover with bread crumbs moistened with milk and lumps of butter (put a little milk in the crab also). Bake in the shells or in a pan.—Miss E. W.
Devilled Crabs.
To the flesh of one dozen crabs boiled fifteen minutes and picked free from shell, add:
3 tablespoonfuls of stale bread crumbs.
½ wine glass of cream.
Yolks of 3 eggs.
A little chopped parsley.
1 tablespoonful butter.
Salt and pepper to the taste.
Put them in the shell and bake in a quick oven.—Mrs. M. E. L. W.
Soft Crabs.
Turn up the ends of the shells and take out the dead man's fingers and take off the flap, and cut out the sand-bag; lay them in cold water until ready to fry. Then dust flour over them, a little salt, and fry them in hot lard.—Mrs. D.
Devilled Crabs.
After the crabs are boiled, pick them up fine and add one third the quantity of crab, in cracker dust or bread crumbs, mustard, red and black pepper, salt, and butter. Return them to the top shells, and bake.—Mrs. D.
To Devil Hard Crabs.
Take them while alive, put them in very little water and steam them till perfectly done and brown, set them away till cold, take all out of the shell. Mix with eggs, bread crumbs, butter, and pepper. Either put back in the top shell and bake, or bake in pans.—Mrs. J. C.
Lobster Curry.
Put the meat of a large lobster into a stewpan with one blade of mace.
1 large cup of meat stock, or gravy.
1 tablespoonful corn starch, mixed smooth, with a little milk or cream.
Add salt.
1 small piece of butter.
1 dessertspoonful curry powder.
Juice of one lemon.
Simmer for an hour and serve hot.—Mrs. C.
Turtle or Terrapin Stew.
After they are well cleaned, parboil the meat, then pick it to pieces. Season highly with pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, hard-boiled egg, spices, lemon, and champagne or other wine.
Stew until well done.
Stewed Turtle.
Make a stew of the turtle and add all the ingredients used in the turtle-soup, except wine and lemons.—Mrs. D.
Terrapin.
First cut up the head and put it in the pot to boil with the shell on; when done enough to remove the under shell, take it up and pick to pieces. Clean the top shell well; add a few crackers, onions, parsley, allspice, black pepper, butter, and wine.
Return it to the shell, put sliced lemon on and bake it.—Mrs. D.
Turtle or Terrapin Steaks.
Cut the turtle or terrapin in thin slices; broil or fry them with pepper, salt, and butter.
Turtle or Terrapin in Batter.
Smother the steaks in an egg-batter. Season with pepper, salt, butter, and with a little bread crumbs; fry or broil.
To Cook Turtles.
Drop four turtles into boiling water, and boil one hour; then take them out and remove the skin from the legs and feet, and replace them in fresh boiling water, where they should continue to boil one and one-half hour and then be taken out to cool. When cold, clean them thoroughly, removing the round liver which contains the gall. Cut them into small bits and place them in a stewpan, adding pepper, salt, the eggs that are found within, one quart water, one-half pound butter, and two tablespoonfuls flour mixed with a little cold water. Stir the flour and water well into the other ingredients, and stew about twenty minutes. As you remove them from the fire, pour in one-half pint Madeira wine.—Mrs. A. D.
FISH.
In selecting fish, notice if the flesh is firm and hard, the eyes full and prominent, the scales bright, the fins stiff, and the gills red, as all these indications denote their being fresh. Wash the fish, rub it with salt and pepper, and lay it on a dish, or hang it up till ready to cook. Never keep it lying in water, either in preparing it for cooking, or in trying to keep it till the next day.
In boiling fish, put it in boiling water, and simmer very slowly. It will require an hour to boil a large fish, and about twenty minutes for a small one. Every housekeeper should have a fish-kettle for fish.
Be careful to have boiling-hot lard in the frying-pan when you go to fry fish. First rub salt and pepper and flour or meal on the fish, then keep it well covered while frying, as you should do to every thing that is being fried. Doing this will enable you to fry the fish (or other article of food) a pretty amber color, while at the same time it will be perfectly done.
Always have a tin sheet for lifting boiled fish and for turning broiled fish. Before broiling, rub with pepper and salt, and then grease with fresh butter. Lay the fish on a gridiron well greased with sweet lard and lay the tin sheet over it. When you wish to turn, take the gridiron from the fire, holding the tin sheet on top the fish. Hold them together, then lay them on a table with the tin sheet down and the gridiron uppermost. Carefully raise the gridiron, leaving the fish lying unbroken on the tin sheet. The cook may now easily slide the fish on the gridiron, put it again on the fire and brown the other side, putting the tin sheet back on top of it. Every thing should be covered while being broiled. When done, lay it on a dish and pour over it melted butter in which has been stirred pepper, salt, and minced parsley. If devilled fish is desired, add to this dressing, one tablespoonful pepper vinegar, one of celery vinegar, one of walnut catsup, one of made mustard, one wine-glassful of acid fruit jelly. In making sauces for fish, never use the water in which the fish has been boiled.
Full directions for stewing fish are to be found in the subsequent pages.
Fish à la Crême.
Boil a firm fish, remove the bones, pick it to pieces. Mix one pint cream or milk with two tablespoonfuls flour, one onion, one-half pound butter (or less), and salt.
Set it on the fire and stir until it is as thick as custard. Fill a baking-dish alternately with fish, cracker, and cream. Bake for thirty minutes, use four crackers.—Mrs. W. C. R.
Halibut.