sh. Dot well with
butter, and bake in a hot oven. Serve with a sauce made by cooking
together a pint of boiled shrimps, a tablespoonful of butter, five
chopped tomatoes, a little celery, thyme, parsley and bay leaf, also
chopped. Cook three to four minutes, then add half a pint of oyster
liquor, boil up, and serve very hot.
_Shrimp Salad_: Boil, and pick from shells--if large cut in half,
otherwise leave whole. Season well with salt and pepper, then mix well
with crisp celery, chopped fine with a very little onion. Heap in salad
dish, cover with a good mayonnaise, and garnish with sliced hard-boiled
eggs, sliced lemon, sliced beets, and celery tips.
_Fried Soft-Shell Crabs_: Wash always in cold water--hot water spoils
the flavor. Remove all sand, also the sand-bag between the eyes, the
apron, and the spongy growths under the side points. Rinse well again in
cold water, and dry thoroughly with a clean towel. Season a pint of rich
milk well with pepper and salt. Season the crabs also, lay them in the
milk, rubbing them so that it may impregnate them throughout. Take out,
roll in sifted flour, patting lightly as you roll, then shaking free of
loose flour. Have deep fat, very hot--it must be deep enough to swim the
crabs. Drop them in gently, fry to a delicate brown, skim out, drain on
hot spongy paper, and serve garnished with fried parsley, and sliced
lemon. Serve with Tartare sauce.
_Daube: Otherwise Beef a la Mode_: Take five pounds good lean beef, rump
or top round, and lard it with a quarter pound salt pork or fat bacon,
cut in thin strips and season highly with salt, pepper, onion, garlic,
thyme, parsley, and bay leaves, all minced fine. Crowd in the seasoning
as well as the larding strips. Make the cuts for larding three to four
inches long. Cut two large, mild onions in quarters, and put into a
deep saucepan with a tablespoonful of lard, let them brown well, then
lay upon them the larded beef, cover, and let simmer very slowly till
well browned. When browned add five carrots and two turnips cut into
inch-squares, and two more onions chopped fine. Keep covered tight, and
simmer for ten minutes, then turn over the meat, and brown the other
side--it will take about ten minutes more. Then cover the meat with
boiling water, or weak stock, add a glass of sherry or Madeira, or even
claret, season with salt, black pepper, and Cayenne to taste, then cover
the pot tight, set it where it will barely simmer and let smothe
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