Mince two green peppers fine and place in a bowl, and add sufficient celery minced fine to measure one cupful, and
One onion, grated, Two cups of thick cream sauce, Two teaspoons of salt, One teaspoon of paprika, Twenty-five prepared oysters, Two cups of cooked macaroni.
Mix and then pour into an au gratin dish. Cover with fine bread crumbs and then with three tablespoons of grated cheese. Bake for forty minutes in a moderate oven.
OYSTER LOAF
Cut a slice from the top of French rolls and scoop out the crumbs.
Brush the inside of the loaf with melted b.u.t.ter and place in the oven and brown. Now place
One cup of thick cream sauce in a saucepan and add One-half cup of finely diced celery parboiled, Two hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, Two tablespoons of finely minced celery, One tablespoon of grated onion, Twenty-five oysters.
Wash and look carefully over the oysters for bits of sh.e.l.l. Drain and pat dry and then cut in half and add
Two tablespoons of lemon juice, One and one-half teaspoons of salt, Three-quarters teaspoon of white pepper.
Mix and then heat to the boiling point, and fill into four rolls and serve, garnished with parsley.
SPICED OYSTERS
Look over twenty-five oysters and then place them in their own liquid over the fire and bring to a boil. Let scald for two minutes and then drain. Wash in cold water. Strain the oyster liquid back into the saucepan after measuring. To three-quarters cup of oyster liquid add
One-half cup of vinegar, One onion, grated, One green pepper, chopped fine, One bay leaf, One teaspoon of salt, One and one-half teaspoons of paprika, Three cloves, Two allspice, One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
Bring to a boil and let cook for ten minutes. Pour over the oysters into all gla.s.s jars and then seal and set in a cool place.
OYSTERS EN BROCHETTE
Cut thinly sliced bacon in pieces the size of an oyster. Wash and look carefully over the oysters for bits of sh.e.l.l, then pat dry on a towel.
Now thread a strip of bacon on a meat skewer and then an oyster and so on until the skewer is full, having the bacon first and last on the skewer. Fasten the ends of skewer with a small k.n.o.b of potato or turnip. Dust the oysters and bacon thoroughly with flour and lay on a baking sheet and bake in hot oven for ten minutes. Serve with chili sauce.
YANKEE OYSTER PIE
Two cups of diced potatoes, parboiled, Three medium-sized onions, diced and parboiled.
Grease a baking dish and then place a layer of onions and potatoes in the bottom and then a layer of oysters. Sprinkle the oyster with one-half cup of finely diced celery. Season each layer of oysters: cover with one and one-half cups of thick cream sauce and then with a crust of plain pastry. Wash the top of pastry with cold water and bake for forty-five minutes in a moderate oven.
DEVILED OYSTERS
Wash. look over and then chop fine twenty-five ovsters. Place in a bowl and then add
One cup of very thick cream sauce, One tablespoon of grated onion, Two tablespoons of finely minced parsley, One teaspoon of salt, One teaspoon of paprika, One-half teaspoon of mustard, One tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, Two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, One-half cup of fine bread crumbs.
Mix thoroughly and then pour on a platter and set aside to chill. Now scrub clean one dozen deep sh.e.l.ls. Fill with the prepared mixture and then brush with beaten egg and cover with fine crumbs. Fry until golden brown in hot fat.
The oyster is one of our most democratic luxuries; it is in very high favor in our most luxurious restaurants, and yet it is held in equal esteem in our most moderate-priced lunch rooms. Oysters are sold both in and out of the sh.e.l.l, fresh and canned, and they may be eaten and cooked in almost every conceivable way.
Among the best known varieties are blue point, Buzzard Bays, Cape Cods, Lynnhavens, Maurice Rivers, Rockaways, saddle rocks, sea tags, Shrewsberrys and coruits and Oak Creeks. Many of these t.i.tles have really lost their real significance by trade misuses. Blue points, for example, is often, though incorrectly, applied to all small oysters, irrespective of their source.
The oyster season opens in September and continues on until May. Three sizes are usually recognized by the trade--half sh.e.l.ls, the smallest culls, the medium size and the box, which is the largest. True oyster lovers really prefer the large Lynnhavens and others on the deep sh.e.l.l.
The epicure delights in eating raw oysters; and while this satisfies his appet.i.te, it is also understood that the raw oyster virtually is a.s.similated without taxing the digestion.
Oysters may be found in almost all parts of the civilized world, each locality having its own special species.
It is a universal custom to omit the oyster from the bill of fare during the months of May, June, July and August. We have in their places the salt oyster and the clam.
Oysters may be served on either the deep or flat sh.e.l.l, on a bed of finely crushed ice with a slice of lemon, Worcestershire sauce, catsup, horseradish or tabasco sauce. Nice crisp celery and toasted crackers generally accompany raw oysters. Do not, under any circ.u.mstances, cover the oyster with ice. Oysters may be made into c.o.c.ktails or may be frozen.
TO MAKE A c.o.c.kTAIL
One-half cup of catsup, One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, One tablespoon of grated onion, Two drops of tabasco sauce, Juice of one-half lemon.
Mix well and use for four oyster c.o.c.ktails, allowing five small oysters per person.
FRAPPE OYSTERS
Place oysters in freezer and freeze until soft mush, and then serve in c.o.c.ktail or sherbet gla.s.ses with garnish of lemon and finely minced parsley.
Oysters may also be prepared in many ways--stews, pans, broiled, baked, fried and roasted are among the popular ways of preparing them.
DRY OYSTER PAN
Wash and look over one dozen large oysters to free from bits of sh.e.l.l.
Lay on a cloth to drain. Now place two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter in a clean saucepan and add the oysters and
One-half teaspoon of celery salt, One-half teaspoon of paprika.
Bring to a boil, cook for three minules and then turn in a hot dish and serve at once.
To prepare a wet pan add one-half cupful ol strained oyster juice to the dry pan.
PAN A LA CROUTON
Prepare a dry pan and then dish on a slice of nicely browned and b.u.t.tered toast.
PAN A LA SUISSE