A handbook of invalid cooking

by Mary A. Boland

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.

BROILED OYSTERS

Select large oysters. Drain them on a cloth or napkin, turning them from one side to the other, to make them as dry as possible. Meanwhile soften some butter, and season some cracker-crumbs with salt and pepper. Then, holding each oyster on a fork, dip it into the crumbs, then into the melted butter, and again into the crumbs. Arrange them in an oyster-broiler (which differs from ordinary broilers by having the wires closer together), and broil over a hot fire for about two minutes, turning the broiler every few seconds. They should not be shriveled, but plump, soft, tender, and juicy. The salt and pepper in the crumbs will sufficiently season them.

FANCY ROAST OR PAN-BROILED OYSTERS

Eight oysters will be enough for one person. Drain the oysters on a cloth or napkin, making them as free from moisture as possible. Heat an omelet-pan, with a small piece of butter in it, very hot; then drop the oysters one by one into the pan, turning each before the next is put in. One should work quickly, otherwise the first will be overdone before the last is put in. When the pan is full, shake it a moment, lift it from the fire, and turn the oysters quickly into a square covered dish, with toast-points in the corners. Season them with salt, pepper, and a bit of butter, and serve them as quickly as convenient.

Each oyster should be cooked so quickly that its juices are shut into itself and do not ooze out into the pan. There is usually a very little juice with the butter, but if it is considerable, one may know that the oysters have not been cooked in a sufficiently high temperature. Oysters are very nice done in this way, but it takes a skilful worker to do them without letting the juice ooze out, or, on the other hand, over-cooking them. The toast-points are made by cutting small squares of bread diagonally across.