298. How to Serve Oysters for Private Families.— Oysters should be kept in a very cold place before they are opened, and well washed before using, otherwise their appearance will be destroyed. They should, according to the French custom, be opened on the deep shell, so as to better preserve the liquor, then laid on finely chopped ice for a short time — too long destroys their flavor. While they should be kept as cold as possible, they should never be allowed to freeze, therefore they must only be opened shortly before they are needed ; for once frozen, they quickly turn sour. The proper way to open them is to place the deep shell in the palm of the left hand, and break them on one side. The Boston stab- bing-knife is preferable for this, but if there.be none handy use a small block that the oyster can fit into, and stab it on the edge ; or even a chop- ping-block and chopping-knife may be employed in case of necessity. Serve six oysters for each person, nicely arranged on oyster-plates with quarters of lemon. 299. Oysters a 1'Alexandre Dumas. — Place in a sauce-bowl a heaped teaspoonful of salt, three-quarters of a teaspoonful of very finely crushed white pepper, one medium-sized, fine, sound, well-peeled, and very finely chopped shallot, one heaped teaspoonful of very finely chopped chives, and half a teaspoonful of parsley, also very finely chopped up. Mix lightly together, then pour in a light teaspoonful of olive oil, six drops of Tabasco sauce, one saltspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and lastly one light gill, or five and a half tablespoonfuls, of good vinegar✪ Oysters a l'Alexandre Dumas. Mix it thoroughly with a spoon ; send to the table, and with a teaspoon pour a little of the sauce over each oyster just before eating them. 300. How to serve Clams.— Clams should be served on deep plates, covered previously with finely chopped ice. To have them sweet and fresh, they should be kept as cold as possible. Serve six on each plate with quarters of lemon. 301. To prepare Breaded Fish.— i. After the fish is pared, cleaned, and dried, dip it first in milk, then in flour, and fry in very hot fat. 2. Take very clean fish, dip it in beaten egg, then in freshly grated bread-crumbs, and fry in very hot fat. 3. For certain fish, like whitebait, immerse them in milk, then in flour mixed with pulverized crackers, shake well in a colander, and throw into very hot fat. Oysters are breaded the same way, but should be flattened before frying. 4. For croustades of rice or potatoes, dip in beaten egg and roll in fresh bread-crumbs ; repeat three times before frying. 302. Salmon, en Papillotes. — Procure two pounds of very fresh sal- mon and cut it into six even slices. Season these with a good pinch of 13 THE TABLE. salt and a pinch of pepper. Roll them well. Cut out six heart-shaped pieces of paper, oil them nicely, and have twelve thin slices of cooked ham (No. 753), then proceed to prepare them exactly as for mackerel en papillote (No. 330).

AI-modernized reading of the original text

298. How to Serve Oysters for Private Families.— Oysters should be kept in a very cold place before they are opened, and well washed before using, otherwise their appearance will be destroyed. They should, according to the French custom, be opened on the deep shell, so as to better preserve the liquor, then laid on finely chopped ice for a short time — too long destroys their flavor. While they should be kept as cold as possible, they should never be allowed to freeze, therefore they must only be opened shortly before they are needed ; for once frozen, they quickly turn sour. The proper way to open them is to place the deep shell in the palm of the left hand, and break them on one side. The Boston stabbing-knife is preferable for this, but if there be none handy use a small block that the oyster can fit into, and stab it on the edge ; or even a chopping-block and chopping-knife may be employed in case of necessity. Serve six oysters for each person, nicely arranged on oyster-plates with quarters of lemon. 299. Oysters a 1'Alexandre Dumas. — Place in a sauce-bowl a heaped teaspoonful of salt, three-quarters of a teaspoonful of very finely crushed white pepper, one medium-sized, fine, sound, well-peeled, and very finely chopped shallot, one heaped teaspoonful of very finely chopped chives, and half a teaspoonful of parsley, also very finely chopped up. Mix lightly together, then pour in a light teaspoonful of olive oil, six drops of Tabasco sauce, one saltspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and lastly one light gill, or five and a half tablespoonfuls, of good vinegar. Mix it thoroughly with a spoon ; send to the table, and with a teaspoon pour a little of the sauce over each oyster just before eating them. 300. How to serve Clams.— Clams should be served on deep plates, covered previously with finely chopped ice. To have them sweet and fresh, they should be kept as cold as possible. Serve six on each plate with quarters of lemon. 301. To prepare Breaded Fish.— i. After the fish is pared, cleaned, and dried, dip it first in milk, then in flour, and fry in very hot fat. 2. Take very clean fish, dip it in beaten egg, then in freshly grated bread-crumbs, and fry in very hot fat. 3. For certain fish, like whitebait, immerse them in milk, then in flour mixed with pulverized crackers, shake well in a colander, and throw into very hot fat. Oysters are breaded the same way, but should be flattened before frying. 4. For croustades of rice or potatoes, dip in beaten egg and roll in fresh bread-crumbs ; repeat three times before frying. 302. Salmon, en Papillotes. — Procure two pounds of very fresh salmon and cut it into six even slices. Season these with a good pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Roll them well. Cut out six heart-shaped pieces of paper, oil them nicely, and have twelve thin slices of cooked ham (No. 753), then proceed to prepare them exactly as for mackerel en papillote (No. 330).

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