Dr. M'Millan's formulas and domestic guide

FRIED CHICKEN WITH OYSTERS. Take a nice, tender chicken and open it down the back, and, after cleansing it well, pound all the bones flat, and wash and wipe it dry on a clean towel. Then season with pepper and salt and fry slowly in sweet lard until tender and a fine brown on both sides. Then put it on a dish where it will keep warm. Pour off the lard in the pan and brown particles that may remain, and add half a pint of warm water and flour enough to make the gravy of the proper consistency. Have ready about 25 large oysters, which remove from their liquor, and put into the pan with the gravy. Let them simmer until their gills begin to shrivel, observing to stir them all the time. When done pour them over the chickens, and send them to the table hot. CHICKEN PIE. Cut up the chickens by unjointing them. Soak thoroughly in weak salt water, wash thoroughly, and put 3 chickens into a kettle with 2 quarts of water and 3 tea-spoonfuls of salt. Boil half an hour. Make a crust by rubbing half a pound of lard into 2 quarts of flour. Take 2 tea-cupfuls of sour cream and i ^ tea-spoonfuls of soda. Knead quite hard, and roll out half an inch thick. A four-quart pudding dish will answer to bake it in. Bring the edge of the crust a little above the rim of the dish, and arrange the chicken by packing closely around the dish. If you are fond of pep- per sprinkle some over each layer of chicken. Half a pound of butter cut up in lumps and scattered among the meat is a great improvement. When the chickens are all in the dish stir some flour into the gravy and turn over the chickens, and then roll out the upper crust and put over the whole, pinching it closely with the under crust that comes over the rim. Prick the top crust for the steam to escape. Bake slowly for i ^ hours and serve hot It is delicious. MEATS. BEEFSTEAK FRIED. Take either porterhouse, tenderloin or sirloin steak, not more than I inch thick, and remove the bone. Cut it into pieces about the size of the palm of your hand. Have your pan perfectly clean, and put it over the fire with very little lard, or, what is better, the fat of the steak. On no account use butter. Have the pan quite hot, but not smoking. If the pan smokes the grease is burning, which will spoil the flavor of your steak. Remove the pan and wait a little. Have it just hot enough to hiss, but not to smoke. Now put in your steak, and turn just as often as it shows brown — once only. Never turn a steak more than once, and do most of the cooking on the second side, leaving it a few minutes for those who like it rare ; longer for those who Hke it better done. But don't allow it to stay in the pan one second after it is done enough. Remove it to the platter, spread a little nice butter on it, and pepper and salt it. Pour the gravy in the pan into the dish, but not over the meat.