Take a dozen large oysters in their liquor, bring them to a boil, add salt, pepper, and a piece of butter about the size of a nutmeg, and half a teaspoonful of chopped chervil, and serve with cracker biscuits.
No. 35.—Fried Oysters, New York Way.
Take 12 large raw oysters, dip them in Indian meal, throw them into the hot fat immediately, like you would fried fish, and serve as soon as browned.
No. 36.—Oyster Soup, New York Way, for a Party of Five Persons.
Take 50 oysters and the liquor, place them in a pan with salt, cayenne pepper, and a teaspoonful of chopped chervil; when boiling, add a liason (or thickening) of 5 yolks of eggs, with a piece of butter the size of an egg, and serve.
Should the oysters not give liquor sufficient, add water and salt, if necessary. One-fourth of this quantity may, of course, be made.
No. 37.—Game for Supper.
In spite of the petite soupers de la Régence, in the early part of the reign of Louis XV., when the gastronomic art was nightly unfolding its luxurious delicacies before the illustrious guests of the Court of France, game, dressed in numerous shapes, forming the most succulent dishes, used to adorn the bills of fare of those nocturnal bacchanalian repasts which had almost triumphed over the daily festive board, the dinners then at Court being only a secondary consideration when compared with the suppers. For my part, I much prefer the former, which, as I have already mentioned, forms the focus of sociability; but when you are compelled to sup late, why not partake of game, which is much lighter food than solid meat, overdone kidneys, or oysters; for what can be more relishing and palatable for supper than the remains of either pheasant, grouse, partridge, &c., devilled or plain broiled, while plain roast game is also highly recommendable for such meals.
No. 38.—Soyer’s Grouse and Black Game Salad.
This dish is also very commendable and relishing. Roast a young grouse, not overdone; when cold, cut in eight pieces; put in a salad bowl enough salad for two persons, lay the pieces of grouse over with 2 or 4 hard eggs cut lengthwise; make the sauce thin, put in a basin a tablespoonful of finely-chopped shalot, 1 ditto of parsley, ditto of pounded white sugar, the yolks of 2 raw eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, quarter one of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of Chili vinegar, 4 of oil; mix all together with a spoon, whip half a pint of cream, which add carefully to your mixture; it will then constitute a delicious salad sauce; pour over your salad, and mix carefully. Pheasants and partridges, when properly kept, are also very good.