Oysters Supreme.

Parboil one pint of large oysters with a slice of onion, bit of mace, and sprig of parsley, and drain. Make a thick sauce with one-fourth cup of butter, one-half cup of flour, and one pint of oyster liquor and cream. Add one beaten egg or two yolks, and cook three minutes longer. Season highly with salt and pepper. Onehalf cup of mushrooms or chicken chopped fine may be added to this paste. Dry the oysters, cover with the mixture, and cool on a buttered pan. Then dip in egg and crumbs, and fry. Or instead of the sauce use mayonnaise dressing. Let them stand five minutes, and if they seem moist, dip again in crumbs and cook at once in deep, hot fat one minute.

Steamed Clams

Select clams in the shell, wash and scrub thoroughly, and change the water until clean. Put them in a kettle with a pint of water for half a peck of clams. Cover tightly and cook them until the shells open. Take out the clams, pour off the liquor carefully into a pitcher, and let it stand until clear, then pour off again from the sediment. Serve the clams in the shell with cups of the broth and small dishes of melted butter.

Fried Clams

Remove steamed clams from the shells, taking off the thin membrane on the edge and the black heads. Rinse thoroughly, dry on a cloth, dip in batter (page 91), and fry.

Clam Fritters.

Chop twelve large clams very fine, season them with salt and black pepper, and stir in one-half cup of flour and two well-beaten eggs. When well mixed add more flour if too thin, then drop with a spoon into hot lard, and when brown skim out, drain on paper, and serve.

Scalloped Clams

Cook one-fourth cup of soft bread-crumbs in one-half cup of milk, and when thick add one tablespoon of butter, one saltspoon of salt and pepper, one tea-spoon of chopped parsley, and one dozen large clams chopped fine. Sift in the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, and then the whites, using a potato ricer. Fill large clean shells with the mixture, cover with buttered cracker crumbs, and bake until brown.

Clam Bouillon.

Steam the clams in the shells, and clear the liquor like any soup stock, seasoning as desired. Serve hot or cold in cups with a garnish of whipped cream.

To Select and Open Lobster

Choose one that is heavy, of medium size, with a hard shell streaked with black.

Wipe it, break off the claws, separate the tail from the body, and the under part of the body from the shell. Remove the meat from the tail, claws, and the body, save the green, liver, and the coral, but discard the vein in the tail, and the gills, stomach, and head. Serve plain, or creamed, or in croquettes, etc.

Cook lobster only long enough to heat it, as longer cooking renders it tough.