Scalloped Oysters.
Do not drain the liquor from the oysters, but fork them out of it as you use them; in that way as much liquor as you require adheres to them. Use stale bread, and do not crumb it too fine, or it will be clammy.
½ teacupful cream.
2 great spoonfuls butter.
Salt and pepper.
Oysters part with a great deal of moisture in cooking, and if the mixture is too wet it is not as good; it should be rather dry when done. Cover the bottom of a well-buttered dish with a layer of very dry bread crumbs, dust over a little salt and pepper, and stick little bits of butter all over the crumbs; then, with a spoon, moisten it with cream. Next, place a layer of oysters, alternating with bread crumbs, until the dish is filled, finishing with butter and cream; invert a plate over it to keep in the flavor. Bake three-quarters of an hour, or until the juice bubbles to the top. Remove the plate, and brown on the upper shelf of the oven for two or three minutes only.—Mrs. R.
Scalloped Oysters.
Those who are fond of oysters prepared in this way will find them much more delicate when cooked entirely by reflected heat. Have your tinner make you an old-fashioned "tin-kitchen" with sloping sides. Take small oblong dishes, such as are in general use at hotels, fill them with alternate layers of oysters and rolled crackers, and lay lumps of fresh butter liberally on top of each dish. Arrange them in the "kitchen," set the open dish in front of a bright fire or very warm grate, and in fifteen or twenty minutes you will find the oysters delicious.—Mrs. D. P.
Scalloped Oysters.
Put on the oysters with just enough liquor to keep from burning, and parboil slightly. Season the rest of the liquor as for stewed oysters with butter, pepper, salt, and a little flour, and boil until done. Put the parboiled oysters in a baking-dish, with a piece of butter and a grated cracker or stale bread and pepper, and pour as much of the gravy as the dish will hold. Put a little of the grated cracker on top, and set it in the oven to brown.—Mrs. W.