219. - Terrapins

Put them in boiling water to kill them; then skin them and take off the nails, wash and put them on again to boil, adding a teaspoon of salt to every two. When tender, remove the shells, sand bags, and gall, carefully; cut up the meat, season it with pepper, mace, and nutmeg, and put it in a stewpan with the juice that has come out, and for every two terrapins, four ounces of butter in flour, a glass of white wine and the yolks of two eggs beaten. The wine and eggs to be added after the whole is stewed perfectly tender.

220. - Crabs Minced

Remove the meat, mince small and place in a saucepan with a wineglassful of white wine, pepper and salt, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Let it stew for ten minutes; melt a piece of butter the size of a hen's egg, with an anchovy and the yolks of two eggs; beat up and mix well, stir in with the crab, and add sufficient stale bread-crumbs to thicken. Garnish with thin toast cut with a pastry leaf-cutter, or with the claws, and parsley. Lobster may be dressed in the same manner.

221. - Crayfish Butter

Take the shells of twenty-four crayfish, clean them well from skin and fibre, put them into an oven to dry, without burning or browning, until they can be beaten to a fine powder; mix the powder very well with three ounces of fresh butter, then put it into a stewpan with a spoonful of hot water, mixing it well together; then squeeze the whole through a tamis over a stewpan of boiling water; skim and butter off into a basin of cold water, that it may set; when cold press it in a napkin.

It forms a beautiful coloring addition to many kinds of dishes, fish especially, and, when mixed with the meat pounded after being taken from the shells, makes fine sauce".

222. - Otsters

Depend very much for goodness upon the beds from which they have been taken. There are several kinds.

They all come into season, according to an old saying, "so long as there is an R in the month." They are, however, not perfectly good until the beginning of October, and should go out at the end of March.

When the fish is alive and strong, the shell closes on the knife. They should be eaten as opened, the flavor becoming poor if long exposed to the air.

223. - To Scallop Oysters

Take twelve of the smaller sort, beard them, cut out the hard part which adheres to their shells, and leave them in their liquor; have ready a quantity of crumbs of fresh bread, not too finely grated, and mixed with a little pepper and salt; then grease a scallop-shell, strew upon it some of the crumbs with bits of butter, and lay upon them a layer of the oysters; then crumbs, bits of butter, and oysters, layer upon layer, until the shell is filled up; cover it with a thick coating of the crumbs well buttered, and brown it in a Dutch oven. A dozen oysters, with a proper quantity of crumbs, will fill up the largest scallop-shell, and take an hour to be thoroughly done.

Some cooks scald the oysters for five minutes, in their own liquor, and mix with them minced shalot, or chives, and pot-herbs; but these, although they may please an epicurean palate, will destroy the natural flavor of the oyster.