Clean a pint of oysters according to the directions in the previous rule. After drying them on a napkin, spread them on a plate and season them with salt, pepper, and a suspicion of cayenne.

Make a rich cream sauce with one pint of cream, one tablespoon of butter, and two tablespoons of flour.

When the sauce is cooked, roll into it the seasoned oysters, put them in individual scallop-dishes, or a dish such as might be used for scalloped oysters, or any shallow baking-dish that is good enough to serve : then bake them in a hot oven, on the grate, for ten minutes if in small dishes, or for fifteen if in a single large one. This gives time enough for the oysters to become cooked but not hardened. The mixing of the oysters and sauce should be done quickly, so that the sauce may not become cold before they are put into the oven ; for if there is much delay, it will take longer to cook them than the time given.

This is a good way to cook oysters for the sick, for the sauce made according to the rule for such sauces (page 130) is easily digested, nutritious, and of good flavor.