Sealed Package

CUT the top from a round loaf of bread and dig out all the crumb; butter the inside of the crust and brown in the oven. Fill with hot creamed oysters and put the cover back on. Cover the entire loaf with beaten egg yolk and put in the oven to glaze.

Shortcake

MAKE a rich biscuit shortcake as for berries. Pick over the oysters carefully; strain the liquor, season and cook the oysters in this. Just as the shortcake comes from the oven split it and butter both inside crusts lavishly; lift the oysters with a fork and lay thick on the under buttered cake; season with pepper and salt and cover with the top crust. Thicken the gravy with flour rubbed smooth with butter; add cream and pour it hot over the shortcake the last moment before serving.

Smothered

TRIM small squares of bread and fry on both sides a light brown in hot olive-oil. Place on each square as many oysters as will lie smooth without crowding; season with salt, paprika and bits of butter. Place these squares in a deep pan, cover tightly and cook in a hot oven for five minutes, or until the edges of the oysters are crinkly.

Souffle

WASH a pint of small oysters and dry between a folded napkin. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a double-boiler; when melted rub in a tablespoonful of flour; add slowly a cupful of milk and stir till smooth; season with salt, pepper, a teaspoonful of minced parsley and five drops of onion-juice. Remove from the fire and stir in the beaten yolks of three eggs and the oysters, stir over the fire for a moment until the egg is thickened, then set aside to cool. Rub a little butter over the top. When it is time to serve beat the three whites very stiff and stir them lightly in. Put in a small buttered pudding-dish and bake in a hot oven twenty minutes. Serve at once in the same dish.

Stuffed

MIX the grated yolks of four hard-boiled eggs with half their quantity of minced salt pork; season with a little chopped parsley, salt and pepper; bind with an uncooked egg. Split open four dozen large fat oysters and stuff them with this mixture. Put each one in a deep oyster shell; cover with fine bread-crumbs and lumps of butter and bake in a quick oven. Decorate with sprigs of parsley and quarters of lemon.

Vienna Loaf

CUT a deep slice from the top of a long thin loaf of stale bread, and with a spoon scrape out all the soft part, leaving a smooth wall all around. Brown two tablespoonfuls of butter in a skillet; add a half-teaspoonful of grated onion and a half-teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, salt and cayenne and brown again; blend with it a tablespoonful of browned flour; add the strained liquor from a quart of oysters, and boil. Fill the loaf with the uncooked oysters, seasoning with salt, pepper and a little finely minced celery. Put generous lumps of butter over the top and replace the crust. Place the loaf in a baking-tin and strain over it part of the brown sauce. Bake twenty-five minutes, basting occasionally with the reserved sauce.