Mrs. Seely's Cook Book: A Manual of French and American Cookery : with ..

For eight persona use eighteen large, hard-shell crabs, one quart of chicken or veal stock, one quart of cream, one pint of stale bread free of crust, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one small slice of carrot, one large slice of onion, two bay leaves, one stalk of celery, one sprig of parsley, a bit of mace, slight grating of nutmeg, one-fourth teaspoonful of white pepper, dash of cayenne, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Put one-half the meat of the crabs and ali of the claws into a stewpan. Add the spice, vegetables, herbs, and half the stock, and place the pan where its contents will simmer gently for forty minutes. Ten minutes later put the bread and the remaining stock into another stewpan, and set the pan where its contents will simmer gently for thirty minutes. When the first mixture has cooked for the proper period, strain it over that in the second stewpan. Mix ali these ingredients thoroughly and rub through a fine sieve. Return to the fire and add butter and flour which have been rubbed together. Cook five minutes longer and add the cream heated in a double boiler, the remainder of the crab meat, salt and pepper. Let the soup boil up once and serve. If one choose, one tablespoonful of brandy and three of Sherry may be added after the bisque is taken from the stove. Orab Bisque Twelve large, hard-shell crabs boiled in salted water. The female crab, known by the light red claws and large flap, is the best. Drain, remove the large shell, but save the creamy part that sticks to it. Put this with the coral that is in the crab, pound fine with four ounces of batter and the yolks of f our eggs, and rub through a sieve. Pare off the flaps and gills, wash off the sand, and pound what is left of the crab to a puree. Chop a medium-sized onion, put it in a saucepan with four ounces of butter, fry a minute or two, then add one pound of steeped and- pressed white of bread and the crab puree. Stir the whole to a paste and gradually stir in one-half pint Catawba wine and enough white broth to make it of the right consistency. Add a bouquet and boil ali for one-half hour. Rub through a fine hair sieve, stir and boil again. Add the prepared egg yolks, white pepper and a pinch of cayenne, one-half pint boiling cream. Mix well without boiling and pour into a tureen. If possible, serve with small boiled oyster crabs separately on a piate. Gumbo of Crabs Take eight large, soft-shell crabs, clean them, and pare off the small legs, flaps, and gills which are spongy and generally sandy. Wash, drain well, and cut each crab in about eight pieces. Put in a saucepan two ounces butter, two chopped shallots, and two ounces of ham cut very small. Fry a little, add one-half pint of white wine, five pints of white broth, salt, pepper, one bunch of parsley tied up with one bay leaf, one sprig of thyme, one clove of garlic, two cloves, one-half a green pepper without the seeds and cut small, and finally the crabs. Cover, and boil slowly for one hour. Remove the parsley, skim the fat, and add six tablespoonfuls of gumbo powder. Drop the powder by the left band quite a distance from the liquid, ali the time stirring with the right hand. This prevents it from getting lumpy. Season highly, pour into a soup tureen, and serve with plain boiled rice on a separate dish. 80UP8 91