A La Newburg

STRAIN the liquor from three dozen oysters; take each oyster on a fork, dip in water and drain. Heat the liquor and when boiling drop the oysters in and plump; remove at once and drain. Rub the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs with a little cream till smooth; add a half-teaspoonful of salt, a half-saltspoonful of pepper, a dash of cayenne, a dash of nutmeg and a cupful of cream. Put into a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted stir in a tablespoonful of flour and cook till smooth, not brown. Stir in slowly the oyster-juice and when smooth, the egg mixture. Stir continually till thickened; add the oysters and two table-spoonfuls of sherry. Have the shells or individual dishes hot, fill immediately and serve at once.

Creamed

MELT in a saucepan a table-spoonful of butter; add a tablespoonful of flour and stir with a fork until smooth. Pour in a pint of cream slowly, beating hard all the time with a wire egg-beater; season with salt and white pepper. Have ready a pint of oysters scalded in their own liquor and drained; drop them in the cream sauce and allow to just heat through.

Cream Stew

STRAIN the liquor from a quart of oysters; pick over the oysters and parboil them in the liquor; remove from the fire and drain. Heat a pint of cream; add the strained oyster liquor, a table-spoonful of butter, salt, white pepper and ten small oyster crackers rolled fine. When just at boiling point add the oysters and serve.

Curried

PICK over a quart of oysters carefully; strain the liquor, wash the oysters and fold them in a towel to dry. Mix together a teaspoonful of cornstarch and a tablespoonful of curry-powder and cream into a half-cupful of butter; add a teaspoonful of scraped onion, salt and four table-spoonfuls of the strained oyster-liquor. Heat this mixture and gradually add two-thirds of a cupful of milk, stirring hard until smooth. Add the oysters and cook five minutes. Serve with them rice croquettes.

Florodora

MELT three tablespoonfuls of butter in a pan; add four tablespoonfuls of flour and stir till smooth; then add one-half teaspoonful of dry mustard, a halfteaspoonful of paprika, a teaspoon-ful of minced parsley, two table-spoonfuls of lemon-juice, two of Worcestershire sauce, salt and one and one-half cupfuls of strained oyster liquor. When the sauce is hot and bubbling drop in a pint of oysters, that have been carefully looked over, and cook till they are plump. Serve on hot buttered toast with pimolas on the side.

Kipling

MIX a half-tablespoonful each of flour and curry-powder with a little cream until smooth. Melt a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; add a table-spoonful of finely minced onion and a teaspoonful of grated apple and simmer gently for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the flour and curry and a half-pint of cream and cook gently fifteen minutes; add a pint of drained oysters and cook just till the gills curl. Serve in a border of plain boiled rice.

Mother's Way

SCALD the strained liquor from three dozen oysters and remove all scum; add to it a quart of milk and bring to boiling point. Rub a tablespoonful of flour smooth in a little cream; season with salt and pepper and stir in the hot milk and cook for two minutes. Add the oysters and boil three minutes more. Place a spoonful of butter in the hot tureen and a dozen oyster crackers, pour over the hot soup and serve.

Snowdon

HEAT a quart of cream and season with celery salt, paprika and a few drops of Tabasco. Wash a quart of large selected oysters, drain, and when the cream is hot drop them in and cook till the edges are a trifle curled. Add three tablespoonfuls of Madeira and serve immediately in hot soup-plates.

Soup

PUT a pint of milk in a double-boiler with a half-cupful of fine bread-crumbs, a cupful of celery cut into bits and a bit of mace; cook until the celery is tender. Drain the liquor from a quart of oysters, wash the oysters and drain. Strain the oyster liquor and put on to boil; remove the scum and add the oysters. As soon as the edges curl, skim them out and strain the liquor into the milk. Remove the bit of mace and turn all into a puree sieve and rub the celery and crumbs through. Put on to boil again, add sufficient cream to make it the right consistency, season with salt and paprika. When it comes to a boil, drop the oysters in and let them just heat through. Serve at once, passing hot browned crackers with it.

Southern Stew

USE a quart of the best Blue Points; lift them from their liquor with a fork and put in, a hot pan; stir and cook quickly two minutes; lift again with a fork to a hot serving dish. Add to the juice in the pan a half-pint of hot cream, a tablespoonful of butter, salt, paprika and the beaten yolks of two eggs; stir for a moment until it thickens, then pour over the oysters. Scatter over the top finely chopped celery.