Select rather large lobsters, as there is a good deal of waste about the small ones. Plunge them head downward into boiling water, and cook for about three-quarters of an hour. Break the shells carefully, remove and throw away the stomach, the vein that runs through the tail-piece, and the spongy fingers between the body and the shell. All the other meat is eatable. Cut into neat pieces, arrange it on lettuce, cover with mayonnaise dressing, and garnish with the claws of the lobster.

Lobster Salad A L'Allemande

Proceed with the lobster as in the preceding recipe, and when the pieces are arranged on the lettuce-leaves sprinkle over them a tablespoonful of finely minced parsley and the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs pressed through a sieve. Serve with French dressing.

Lobster Salad A La Russe

Cut the lobster into dice and mix it with a generous quantity of mayonnaise. Stir in with a pint of the mingled lobster and dressing about two dozen tiny cubes of young carrots and beets boiled very tender. Line a salad-bowl with lettuce-leaves, heap the salad upon them, mask it with more of the yellow mayonnaise, and garnish it with a little of the dressing, colored red with the lobster coral, and with a very little Russian caviare.

Lobster Salad En Casserole

Prepare exactly as directed above, only, instead of serving in a large bowl on lettuce-leaves, arrange without the lettuce in tiny casseroles of china, copper, or silver. These come for cooking shirred eggs and similar dishes, and differ from the regular nappies in having handles. Garnish as above with red mayonnaise and caviare. In both cases be sure that salad and dressing are ice-cold.

CRAB SALAD may be prepared like lobster salad.

Soft-Shell Crab Salad

Broil, or fry, soft-shell crabs, as elsewhere directed, and serve cold on lettuce with mayonnaise or tartare sauce.