86. Lobsters And Crabs

Put them into boiling water, and boil them from half to three quarters of an hour, according to their size. Boil half a tea cup of salt with every four pounds of the fish. When cold, crack the shell, and take out the meat, taking care to extract the blue veins, and what is called the lady in the lobster, as they are very unhealthy. If the fish are not eaten cold, warm them up with a little water, vinegar, salt, pepper, and butter. The following way of dressing lobsters looks very prettily. Pick out the spawn and red chord, mash them fine, rub them through a sieve, put in a little butter and salt. Cut the lobsters into squares, and warm it, together with the spawn, over a moderate fire. When hot, take it up, and garnish it with parsely. The chord and spawn are a handsome garnish for any kind of fish.

87. Scollops

Are nice boiled, and then fried, or boiled and pickled, in the same manner as oysters. Take them out of the shells - when boiled, pick out the hearts, and throw the rest away, as the heart is the only part that is healthy to eat. Dip the hearts in flour, and fry them in lard till brown. The hearts are good stewed, with a little water, butter, salt, and pepper.

88. Eels

Eels, if very large, are best split open, cut into short pieces, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and broiled several hours after they have been salted. They are good cut into small strips, and laid in a deep dish, with bits of salt pork, seasoned with salt and pepper, and covered with pounded rusked bread, then baked half an hour. Small eels are the best fried.

89. Trout

Trout are good boiled, broiled, or fried - they are also good stewed a few minutes, with bits of salt pork, butter, and a little water. Trout, as well as all other kinds of fresh water fish, are apt to have an earthy taste - to remove it, soak them in salt and water a few minutes, after they are cleaned.

90. Clams

Wash and put them in a pot, with just water enough to prevent the shells burning at the bottom of the pot. Heat them till the shells open - take the clams out of them, and warm them with a little of the clam liquor, a little salt, butter, and pepper. Toast a slice or two of bread, soak it in the clam liquor, lay it in a deep dish, and turn the clams on to it. For clam pancakes, mix flour and milk together to form a thick batter - some cooks use the clam liquor, but it does not make the pancakes as light as the milk. To each pint of the milk, put a couple of eggs, and a few clams - they are good taken out of the shells without stewing, and chopped fine, or stewed, and put into the cakes whole. Very large long clams are good taken out of the shells without stewing, and broiled.

91. Stewed Oysters

Strain the oyster liquor, rinse the bits of shells off the oysters, then turn the liquor back on to the oysters, and put them in a stew pan - set them where they will boil up, then turn them on to buttered toast - salt, pepper, and butter them to your taste. Some cooks add a little walnut catsup, or vinegar. The oysters should not be cooked till just before they are to be eaten.

92. How To Fry Oysters

Take those that are large, dip them in beaten eggs, and then in flour, or fine bread crumbs - fry them in lard, till of a light brown. They are a nice garnish for fish. They will keep good for several months if fried when first caught, salted and peppered, then put into a bottle, and corked tight. Whenever they are to be eaten, warm them in a little water.

93. Oyster Pancakes

Mix equal quantities of milk and oyster juice together. To a pint of the liquor when mixed, put a pint of wheat flour, a few oysters, a couple of eggs, and a little salt. Drop it by the large spoonful into hot lard.

94. Oyster Pie

Line a deep pie plate with pie crust - fill it with dry pieces of bread, cover it over with puff paste - bake it till a light brown, either in a quick oven or bake pan. Have the oys-*ers just stewed by the time the crust is done - take off the upper crust, remove the pieces of bread, put in the oysters, season them with salt, pepper, and butter. A little walnut catsup improves the pie, but is not essential - cover it with the crust.

95. Scolloped Oysters

Pound rusked bread or crackers fine - butter scollop shells or tins, sprinkle on the bread crumbs, then put in a layer of oysters, a small lump of butter, pepper, salt, and a little of the oyster juice - then put on another layer of crumbs and oysters, and so on till the shells are filled, having a layer of crumbs at the top. Bake them till a light brown.