Two tablespoonfuls of white stock
two tablespoonfuls of cream
pepper and salt to taste
bread-crumbs
oiled butter

Scald the oysters in their own liquor, take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor free from grit. Put one ounce of butter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up; add the stock, cream, and strained liquor, and give one boil. Put in the oysters and seasoning; let them gradually heat through, but not boil. Have ready the scallop-shells buttered; lay in the oysters, and as much of the liquid as they will hold; cover them over with bread-crumbs, over which drop a little oiled butter. Brown them in the oven, or before the fire, and serve quickly, and very hot.

Half pint of oysters
two eggs
half pint of milk
sufficient flour to make the batter
pepper and salt to taste
when liked, a little nutmeg
hot lard

Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and lay them on a cloth, to drain thoroughly. Break the eggs into a basin, mix the flour with them, add the milk gradually, with nutmeg and seasoning, and put the oysters in a batter. Make some lard hot in a deep frying-pan, put in the oysters, one at a time; when done, take them up with a sharp-pointed skewer, and dish them on a napkin. Fried oysters are frequently used for garnishing boiled fish, and then a few bread-crumbs should be added to the flour.

Take a pint of fine oysters, put them with their own liquor, and a gill of milk into a stew-pan, and if liked, a blade of mace; set it over the fire, take off any scum which may rise; when they are plump and white turn them into a deep plate; add a bit of butter, and pepper to taste. Serve crackers and dressed celery with them. Oysters may be stewed in their own liquor without milk.

Wash the shells and put them on hot coals or upon the top of a hot stove, or bake them in a hot oven; open the shells with an oyster-knife, taking care to lose none of the liquor, and serve quickly on hot plates, with toast. Oysters may be steamed in the shells, and are excellent eaten in the same manner.

Take out the backbone of the fish; for one weighing two pounds take a tablespoon of allspice and cloves mixed; these spices should be put into little bags of not too thick muslin; put sufficient salt directly upon each fish; then roll in a cloth, over which sprinkle a little cayenne pepper; put alternate layers of fish, spice and sago in an earthen jar; cover with the best cider vinegar; cover the jar closely with a plate and over this put a covering of dough, rolled out to twice the thickness of pie crust. Make the edges of paste to adhere closely to the sides of the jar, so as to make it air-tight. Put the jar into a pot of cold water and let it boil from three to five hours, according to quantity. Ready when cold.

The best way to cook these is to make incisions in the skin across the fish, because they do not then require to be so long on the fire, and will be far better than when cut open. The hard roe makes a nice relish by pounding it in a mortar, with a little anchovy, and spreading it on toast. If very dry, soak in warm water one hour before dressing.

Smelts
bread-crumbs
one-quarter pound of fresh butter
two blades of pounded mace
salt and cayenne to taste.

Wash and dry the fish thoroughly in a cloth, and arrange them nicely in a flat baking-dish. Cover them with fine bread-crumbs, and place little pieces of butter all over them. Season and bake for fifteen minutes. Just before serving, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon.

Egg and bread-crumbs
a little flour
boiling lard

Smelts should be very fresh, and not washed more than is necessary to clean them. Dry them in a cloth, lightly flour, dip them in egg, and sprinkle over with very fine bread-crumbs, and put them into boiling lard. Fry of a nice pale brown, and be careful not to take off the light roughness of the crumbs, or their beauty will be spoiled. Dry them before the fire on a drainer, and serve with plain melted butter.

Four or five pounds of lobster, chopped fine; take the green part and add to it four pounded crackers; stir this into one quart of boiling milk; then add the lobster, a piece of butter one-half the size of an egg, a little pepper and salt, and bring it to a boil.

Pick out the meat of two red lobsters from the shells into a shallow sauce-pan, in the bottom of which has been placed a thin slice of tasty ham, with a little cayenne pepper and a teaspoonful of salt. Mix up half a cupful of white soup and half a cupful of cream and pour over the meat. Put it on the fire and let it simmer for about an hour, when you will add a dessertspoonful of curry, and another of flour rubbed smooth in a little of the liquor taken out of the pot; in three minutes the curry will be ready to dish. Some add a dash of lemon to this curry (I don't) and the cream can be dispensed with if necessary. Put a rim of well-boiled rice round the dish if you like, or serve the rice separately.