The Project Gutenberg eBook, Standard Paper-Bag Cookery, by Emma Paddock Telford

STANDARD
PAPER-BAG COOKERY

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

In giving this little book to the public, there has been in mind one thing—practicability.

The endeavor has been to make the directions for "Paper-bag Cookery" so clear and concise that even the inexperienced housekeeper may not be deterred from trying this new-old way of cooking foods delicately, digestibly, economically.

No one is advised to try dishes—as for instance soups, omelettes, macaroni and kin,—and many desserts that may better be done by other methods.

Neither has the author called for strange and divers seasonings and materials that are only to be found in the kitchens of the mighty and their attendant chefs.

For the very large family or boarding house, pots and pans need still be called upon; but for the small family, for the woman who does her own work and wishes to minimize labor, or for the epicurean but frugal housewife who looks personally after the details of her own little establishment, this paper-bag cookery is commended. If this little volume points the easiest way for the preparation of nice dishes with a modicum of labor and a saving of time and money, it is all that its author and compiler asks.

CHAPTER I.

The principles contained in Paper-bag Cookery are not new. Woodsmen and hunters have known for ages that if they wanted fish or game done to a turn, a jacket of clay outside the meat which was protected from soil by leaves or corn husks, gave, on removing the clay case, the very quintessence of delicate, savory cookery.

Now within the last two years, a series of experiments has resulted in the perfecting of a system of Paper-bag Cookery that revolutionizes the old time kitchen drudgery with its unending round of greasy pots and pans to be taken into account.

The advantages of this method of cooking are manifold. They may be epitomized thus:

I. It makes food more savory and nutritious.

II. It is sanitary. No dust can reach the article being cooked and, the cooking accomplished, the bag can be thrown into the stove or kitchen scrap basket with no temptation for a lazy maid to tuck away a greasy pan in the dish closet for the delectation of "germs" or roaches.

III. It is economical. Not only does it save the time and strength of the housewife with no aftermath of dirty cooking dishes to be washed, but it prevents the shrinkage of meats as caused by ordinary cookery. Nothing is lost, because there is no evaporation; careful experiments prove that the weight of the cooked food tallies almost exactly with the weight of the raw. There is also a great saving of fuel, some claiming as high as 40 per cent., owing to the less time required in Paper-bag Cookery. While this may be a generous estimate it is certain that Paper-bag Cookery takes on the average, one-third less time than other cooking.

IV. With ordinary care there is no danger of food burning, and no deterioration in flavor if left in the bag some little time before serving.

V. It is odorless; a great thing, this, for the flat-dweller who has to cook in restricted quarters, taking care always that cooking odors do not permeate the house.

VI. Its price is not prohibitive. Indeed, it is most reasonable.

Paper-bag Cookery calls for no big outlay of money, no patent stove oven, no complex apparatus or appliances. All that is necessary is an oven of any sort—coal, gas, electric, wood or oil—a broiler, a paper bag specially and sanitarily prepared,—grease proof and waterproof,—a wood cookery dish if the food contains liquid or a number of separate ingredients, and something to cook therein. Another convenience are the wire clips for fastening the mouth and corners of the bag, which can be purchased wherever the bags are sold.

THE KIND OF PAPER BAG TO USE.

While a sheet of heavy foolscap paper made into a bag serves for the cooking of a single chop—it is self-evident that for larger proportions, larger bags and bags from strong, absolutely sanitary paper must be used. While there are bags and bags now upon the market, not all fulfill these essential conditions. After much experimenting, the Continental Paper Bag Co., of Rumford, Maine, and New York City, has succeeded in producing the ideal bag which may now be found in varying sizes, at all the large house-furnishing stores, grocers, butchers, etc., or the bags may be ordered direct from headquarters. These bags are put up in bulk in bundle lots, or in sealed packages of assorted sizes. Each of the sealed packages contains thirty bags of assorted sizes with the necessary clips and a small book of recipes with full directions. Retail price 25 cents a package—fifty packages to a shipping bundle.

In order to make paper bag cookery of the greatest value to housewives, both as regards cleanliness and ease of operation, to say nothing of the many cases where the flavor of the food is actually improved, the author heartily recommends the use of specially prepared wood cookery dishes. These dishes are most inexpensive, varying in price from about thirty for ten cents to six for ten cents, depending upon size. They can be purchased wherever the paper bags are sold,—department stores, house furnishing stores, grocery stores, etc., etc., or may be obtained direct from the Oval Wood Dish Company, Delta, Ohio. The food is placed in the wood cookery dish and the dish is put into the bag. The advantage lies in the fact that should the bag break, the food and juices are saved in the dish and the oven will not be soiled by leakage. Then again, the food can be removed from the bag when finished with greater ease than when the dish is not used. The dishes are so cheap that they can be thrown away with the bag after the food is prepared.

CHAPTER II.

I. Select a bag that fits the food to be cooked. When a liquid is used or a number of ingredients are to be cooked together, use a wood cookery dish which holds the food stuffs together and permits their ready removal from the bag.

II. Brush over the outside of the bag with a little water to make it pliable. Grease the inside except in the case of vegetables or when water is added, using for this another little flat brush (kept for this purpose) and pure vegetable oil, melted butter or drippings. Apply the brush with a rotary motion greasing the bottom first and working toward the top; or lay the bag flat on a table, reach inside and grease the lower side of the bag, then press the other side against it until both surfaces are evenly greased. The up-to-date housewife who is adopting the paper-bag culinary cult has also discovered that for greasing the bags, a necessary step, there is nothing that can take the place of the high grade vegetable oils. They are easily applied and absolutely tasteless and odorless, a great point, this, when the bags themselves have sometimes been condemned as imparting a foreign odor to foods cooked in them, when in reality it was the fault of the special fat with which they were greased. Now place the bag flat on the table, seam side up and lift the uppermost side while you insert the article to be cooked. Press the air out of the bag, fold over the corners and make two folds of the mouth of the bag, fastening firmly with three or four clips, or even pins. No harm is done if the two lower corners of the bag are folded and also fastened with one clip each.

III. Now be sure the oven heat is right. If you are using gas for the cooking, light for five minutes before the bag goes into the oven. The average oven heat should be not less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and may be 250 degrees. When the bag is put into the oven, the heat must be at once reduced to 170 degrees. An inexperienced cook lacking an oven thermometer can test the right degree of heat by placing a bit of paper in the oven and noting the color it assumes. At the end of five minutes it should be a light golden brown.

If the heat is too intense the bag will burst. Now carefully lay the bag on the grid shelves or wire broilers—never on solid shelves, being careful to place the seam side of the bag up.

This is imperative, as otherwise the juices of the food being cooked may cause the seam to open, and distribute its contents over the oven. Once placed in position, roasts and entrees on the lower shelf, about an inch from the oven floor, fish on the middle shelf, and pastry on the top where heat is most intense,—do not move or open the bags until the schedule time of their cooking is accomplished. In placing the article to be cooked, take care that the bag does not touch the sides of the oven and that it is not too close to the flames. When the time limit of cooking has expired, take up the bag from the shelf by drawing with the wires, not across them, which is apt to tear the bag made tender by charring. Slip on to the lid of a pot or flat tin held just beneath the grid and thence to the heated platter. To secure the gravy, stick a pinhole in the bottom of the bag and allow it to drain on to the platter, or serving dish. Rip open the bag from the top and throw the charred fragments away at once. If to be served hot, arrange at once on a heated platter or other dish, with its appropriate garnish.

POINTERS FOR PAPER BAG COOKERY.

I. In the case of a coal-heated oven with solid shelves a wire broiler or "grid" should be substituted as the heat must be allowed to circulate on all sides of the bag.

II. The size of the oven makes no difference but it must be kept clean.

III. In the case of a fowl or joint see that there are no rough edges or bones protruding that will be likely to pierce the bag.

IV. Do not season the article to be cooked too highly as none of the seasonings are dissipated during the cooking as is usually the case in ordinary boiling or roasting.

V. For cooking fruit, grease the outside of the bag.

VI. In removing the bag from the oven, draw with the wires, not across them.

VII. To brown things at the last of the cooking, if necessary, puncture a few holes in the top of the bag.

VIII. If a bag breaks in the cooking, as it sometimes will if the heat is too intense, do not try to remove the article being cooked from the bag, but slip the whole into a new well-greased bag. The use of two bags is better than one when things require long cooking or for meats with much fat or juicy dishes. While it may cost a bit more, it will save much anxiety lest the bag burst.

IX. To avoid having any chance drippings soil the oven floor, slip a thin tin baking sheet or shallow dripper under the broiler, letting it rest flat on the bottom of the oven. Put in a little hot water and this steam will keep the bag moist and do much to discourage its breaking. Indeed, in baking any kind of fruit cake, which requires slow cooking, quite a little water in the drip-pan underneath is advisable.

X. In baking pastry and cake, a few tiny holes should be made in the upper side of the bag before putting in the oven. This will brown the surface of the cake delicately.

XI. Do not let the bag touch the sides of the oven or the gas flames.

XII. Wire trivets such as are sold at house-furnishing stores for use in cooling bread and cakes will be found a great convenience. If a bag is laid on a trivet, it can then be easily set in the oven and as easily lifted out when done.

XIII. Never try to take things from the oven with the gas lighted. Matches are cheaper than gas, if the oven has to be relighted, and burned fingers or wrists are more costly than many matches.

XIV. Use care in opening the oven. A draught from an open door or window might cause the gas flame to ignite the bag.

XV. Until taught by experience, follow the time table as given in the cookery book.

CHAPTER III.

TIME TABLE.

As a general rule less time is required for Paper-bag Cookery than any other way. While this approximate time table is at your service, experience will enable you to modify the figures to suit your own stove and your family's predilections as to having things rare or well done.

FISH.

ROASTS.

POULTRY.

TABLE OF MEASUREMENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Appetizers play a very important part now-a-days in all up-to-date establishments and even in modest homes where they are not only employed as introductory to the course dinner, but as a pleasing accessory to the afternoon tea service. They are supposed to whet the appetite for the heavier dishes that follow. In Europe one always finds them. They are considered very "smart" and as they are but little trouble to prepare in Paper bag cookery, when one has learned the trick, there is no reason why the hostess who aims to keep abreast of the times should not make frequent use of them. At very formal affairs, they are placed on the service plates after the guests are seated, but usually they are at each place when the meal is announced. Canapés (which means "toast cushions" or bouchees, small patties or "bites") with their accompanying spread of appetizing fish, cheese or potted meats, are newer than the cocktails of oyster, clam or grape-fruit that used to lead the feast.

Bouchee Cases.—These are usually made from pastry by covering tiny but deep patty pans with rich pastry, cutting narrow strips to make the rim for the cup. Put on a tin in a buttered bag and bake. When cool they will slip from the pan. They may be made the day before using if preferred.

Another way of preparing them is to cut good sized circles of bread; then with a smaller cutter, scrape out a hollow, spread with butter, put in the bag and bake ten minutes until browned. When ready to serve, fill with any mixture desired and serve hot or cold as appetizers or with the salad course.

Bonne Bouchee.—Make the pastry cases and when ready to serve fill with pate-de-foie gras, made soft with whipped cream, seasoned with salt, cayenne or paprika. Decorate each one with an olive or bit of aspic jelly.

Bouchees of Caviare, Olives and Mayonnaise.—Spread circles or dominoes of bread with a thin layer of caviare. In the center place a pitted olive, green or black, with its pit removed and the cavity filled with minced red peppers. Hold the olive in place with a few drops of mayonnaise, red or the usual yellow, and put tiny dots of the same about the border.

Bouchees of Sardines.—Pound one or two boned sardines in a mortar, together with a small quantity of cheese. Season with salt, pepper and chili vinegar, and add, if you like, a few chopped oysters. Spread this mixture on circles of "bagged" bread about the size of a silver dollar, and add a garnish of hard-boiled yoke of egg, rubbed through a sieve and a little finely minced parsley.

Bouchees of Sausage or Tongue.—Cover circles of "bagged" bread with red stars cut from boiled tongue or the red imported sausages. Lay on the top of each star, log cabin fashion, several tiny lengths of pickled gherkins and crown with a sprig of watercress.

The Making of Canapés.—Bread two days old is best for the foundation. Trim free from crusts, then cut in uniform oblongs, diamonds, triangles, circles or fingers as desired, using for this the cutters that come on purpose. Butter lightly, spread with the prepared mixture and slip into the well-greased paper-bag for five minutes just long enough to brown the toast delicately and heat the savory.

Anchovy Canapés.—Cut white bread in oblong strips, spread lightly with butter, and anchovy paste, and tuck into the buttered bag. Bake five minutes, then serve hot, adding, if liked, to each canapé two strips of boneless anchovy laid across it diagonally and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Caviare Canapés.—Cut bread in circles and spread with a mixture of three tablespoonfuls caviare paste, one teaspoonful lemon juice, one half teaspoonful paprika, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and a half cupful minced cress. Pop in the buttered bag and cook five minutes.

Hot Cheese Canapés.—Take circles or strips of Vienna bread, spread lightly with butter, grate a little cheese over them, sprinkle on top a little cayenne pepper and salt and put in bag. Cook five minutes.

Cheese and Cracker Canapés.—Split Boston crackers and soak ten minutes in cold water. Lift out carefully and place on a well-buttered baking tin. Drop on each a generous bit of butter, a sprinkling of grated Parmesan or American cheese and a dusting of paprika. Put in the bag, seal and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven.

Cheese Toast Sandwiches.—Cut slices of white bread rather thicker than for sandwiches. Chop fine one cupful of American cheese and two green peppers with the seeds removed. Season with salt and pepper and work to a paste. Spread one slice of bread with butter and its mate with creamed filling. Press firmly together, take off the crusts, and put into the buttered bag. Bake five minutes and serve very hot.

Cracker Crisps.—Dip oyster crackers or dinner biscuits in melted butter, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and put in a paper bag. Bake ten minutes.

Deviled Crackers.—Mix three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, one-fourth teaspoon of dry mustard, one teaspoon of anchovy paste, a dash of cayenne and a pinch of butter. Spread over the crackers and put in bag in a hot oven to brown.

Diables à Cheval.—Have ready large French prunes that have been soaked twenty-four hours in water, then cooked and the pits removed. Insert almonds in the cavity left by the pit. Toss in olive oil or refined cotton seed oil or roll in thin slices of bacon, fastened with a tooth pick, put in the bag, seal and cook eight minutes. Serve piping hot.

NUT APPETIZERS.

Salted Almonds.—Shell as many nice large nuts as desired. The Jordan nuts are best, but the paper-shelled ones will answer. Put into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Spread a towel over the bowl to retain the steam and let them stand five minutes. Pour off the water and replace with cold, then rub off the brown skins between thumb and forefinger. Shake in a colander until dry, then put in a shallow dish adding for each cupful of nuts, one tablespoonful melted butter, olive or refined cotton seed oil (preferably either of the oils, which will give the richer glaze). Stir well together. Let stand an hour, then put into the well-greased paper bag, first sprinkling with dry salt, allowing one tablespoonful to each cupful of nuts. Fasten and roast ten minutes, shaking the bag occasionally. You can do this by the aid of two trivets.

Deviled Almonds.—To devil them, add a suspicion of cayenne pepper with the salt.

Roasted Chestnuts.—Make a cross on the shell of the nut using a sharp penknife. Put in the oiled bag, dredge lightly with salt, and let cook twenty minutes giving an occasional shake.

Salted Chestnuts.—Throw into boiling water as many shelled nuts as desired. Blanch and dry, patting with a soft towel. Then add olive oil or melted butter to the nuts, allowing a teaspoonful to each cup of nuts and let them remain in oil half an hour. Dredge with salt, a heaping teaspoonful to each cup, then put in oiled bag and let them brown in the oven from 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the bag frequently to keep them from scorching and make them an even brown. These should be crisp and delicate. To devil them, add a suspicion of cayenne with the salt. Serve at dinner after the cheese.

Deviled Chestnuts.—Shell and blanch a quart of chestnuts. Dry thoroughly, then brown in paper bag in hot olive oil or butter. Have ready a mixture composed of two tablespoonfuls of chopped mixed pickle, one tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce, one quarter teaspoonful salt and a dash of cayenne. Turn this over the hot nuts, and serve at once.

CHAPTER V.

Bread Sticks.—In preparing these, any bread dough may be used, though that with shortening is preferred. After it is kneaded enough to be elastic, cut into pieces half the size of an egg, then roll on the molding board into a stick the size of a pencil and about a foot long. Lay these strips in the well-greased paper bag, let them rise a little before putting in the oven, then fasten the bag and bake with a moderate heat, so they will dry without much browning.

Croutons Toasted.—Slice bread that is stale but not too dry, into pieces about half an inch thick, cut these slices in uniform cubes and put in a well-greased bag. Shake occasionally and let toast for ten minutes.

Crisped Crackers.—Split butter crackers and spread with butter. Put into the paper bag buttered side up and bake ten minutes. These are delicious with vegetable soups and in fish chowder and oyster stew.

Egg Balls.—Drop the yolk of four eggs into a cup and set in a pan of water over the fire. When the yolks are cooked hard and mealy, pound to a paste and season with an even teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne or a more liberal sprinkling of paprika. Mould into balls the size of grapes, by mixing the yolk of a raw egg with the cooked paste, rolling lightly in the white of an egg, then in flour. Tuck into a small buttered bag, fasten, and set in oven for five minutes to become firm.

Forcemeat Balls or Quenelles.—Chop very fine any cold meat you have on hand, and season with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and a little onion juice. For one cupful of the prepared meat, beat one egg until light, stir in with hashed meat and add just enough flour to make cohesive. Roll in the hands to the size of hickory nuts, put in paper bag and cook ten minutes.

CHAPTER VI.

Fish and the paper bag method of cooking, go hand and glove. The thing that every housewife hates most, particularly in a small apartment, or in the Winter when it is difficult to get the house thoroughly aired, is the pervasive odor that announces to every one in the house or block just what you are going to have for dinner. Bagged, the odor is so minimized as to be entirely inoffensive. Ten minutes airing after the bag is opened will be quite sufficient to dissipate every particle of odor. Furthermore, the fish itself is much more delicate and digestible with all the flavor of fish and seasoning held in and united in a harmonious whole. Of course, this presupposes a fresh fish to start with, or one just out of cold storage, before it has had a chance to thaw and develope ptomaines. In buying fish, look at the eyes and flesh. Fish should be firm to the touch. If pressed by the finger the flesh should rise instantly. There should be no impression left. If fish is fresh the eyes are bright and the gills red and the scales not easily rubbed off. Never lay fish directly on artificial ice, say the fishermen, as the ammonia used in the freezing affects them injuriously. Shell fish are not so apt to spoil as the other fish.

The wood cookery dishes will be found of great value in cooking all kinds of fish in paper bags. In many cases the flavor of the fish is improved and the fish can always be taken from the bag with ease and served whole if desired.

Clam Pies.—Line little tins or moulds with paste and put in a layer of raw clams with a seasoning of butter and pepper. Dredge with flour, add a spoonful or two of clam juice, cover with the paste, cut a hole in the top, brush with beaten egg, slip into the bag, fasten and bake twenty minutes.

Roast Clams.—Scrub the shells clean and slip in the bag. As soon as the shells open, remove carefully and pour off the extra liquor in as many small cups as you have persons to serve. Put a cup of the juice to which a bit of butter and dusting of pepper has been added, in the center of a soup dish, and arrange the clams around it. With an oyster fork, the clams may then be removed from the shell, dipped into the liquor and eaten. Serve very hot with quarters of lemon.

Crabs, Soft and Hard.—While soft shell crabs are too expensive for the purse of moderate depth, the hard shell crustacean is always in order and greatly to be desired. Crabs, like all other shell fish, are best when fresh from their native waters, and the individual who can do his own crabbing and then eat the fruits of his labor with the flavor of the sea still with them, has nothing more to be desired from a gastronomic standpoint. In most markets crabs may be found both alive and boiled. If alive, keep them in cold water until ready to cook. If already boiled, use them as soon as possible as they do not keep well for more than twenty-four hours. When ready to cook live crabs, take up on a skimmer, handling gingerly so as to avoid a pinch, and drop into a large kettle of boiling salted water. Cook gently fifteen minutes, or until a bright red, skim out, and cool, twist off the claws, remove the upper shell from the under, scrape the spongy portions from the sides, remove the green portion and wash free from sand. Crack the large claws and remove the meat. If you are to serve the crab meat in the shells, wash and dry as many of the upper ones as desired. These preliminaries attended to, the crabs are ready to use, in any one of a dozen different ways.

Creamed Crabs.—Remove the meat from a half dozen hard-shelled crabs. Cook two tablespoonfuls of butter and a tablespoonful of finely chopped onion until yellow, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and pour in gradually a cup of cream. As soon as blended and smooth, add the crab meat, salt and paprika to season, a tiny grating of nutmeg and a tablespoonful of sherry wine. Spread on slices of toast, grate a little cheese on top, put into a bag, seal, set in the oven a moment to heat through, then serve.

Crabs Deviled à la William Penn.—Boil hard-shelled crabs, then remove the under part without breaking the upper shell. Take out the crab meat, add about half the quantity of bread crumbs and some chopped hard boiled eggs, with salt, cayenne and lemon juice to season. Form into a paste with a little melted butter and fill the shells. Sift buttered crumbs over the top, slip in the bag and cook ten minutes in a hot oven.

Crab Meat au Gratin.—Mix the meat from six crabs with a third the amount finely chopped, sweet, green peppers. Add the yolks of two eggs beaten with a half cup cream and a little sherry, and toss in a saucepan until hot and creamy. Put the mixture into the cleaned crab shells or the little brown ramequins, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fine crumbs; put in bag and crisp in a hot oven.

Crab Flakes au Gratin.—Add to one pint crab flakes, one-half cupful cream sauce, two tablespoonfuls melted butter and a quarter teaspoonful paprika. Mix well together, place in a small wood cookery dish or ramequins, sprinkle the top with toast crumbs and a light sprinkling of Roman cheese. Put into bags, bake and serve. If any be left over, it makes a delicious salad served on lettuce with mayonnaise.

Lobster Chops.—Put into a saucepan a heaping tablespoonful of butter and two very heaping ones of flour. As soon as melted and frothed, add one cupful of hot milk or cream, and stir until the mixture is smooth and thick. Season with salt and paprika, take from the fire, add two cups of the lobster, cut fine, mix well and turn on to a platter to get as cold as possible. When cold and firm, form into balls, then flatten into chops, roll in egg, then in cracker crumbs and set away on the ice until ready to cook. Put in buttered paper bag and cook ten minutes. When ready to serve, tuck one of the little claws in the small end to simulate a chop bone and garnish with lemon and parsley. For Sunday night supper these chops may be cooked early in the day, then simply re-bagged and heated in the oven for the meal.

Coquilles of Lobster.—Cook two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped onion in a tablespoonful butter for fifteen minutes. Have ready a cream sauce made by melting together over the fire a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, then thinning with a cupful of white stock that has been cooked with a small bouquet of sweet herbs. Salt and pepper to taste, and if you like add half a cupful chopped mushrooms and their liquor. Add to the lightly browned onions two cupfuls finely cut lobster meat, a tablespoonful minced parsley, one cupful of the made sauce and salt and paprika. Cook together ten minutes, then put the mixture into the shells, pour a little of the sauce over each, sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs, bag, and bake about ten minutes or until they are browned.

Lobster in Shells.—Cut the meat from two cans of lobster into small pieces. Sprinkle a few bread crumbs and a little salt and pepper over it. Then put in shells. On each shell put a good sized lump of butter, two teaspoonfuls of wine, some more salt and pepper and some more bread crumbs. Put prepared shells in a paper bag, put in a hot oven and cook ten minutes.

Mussels au Gratin.—Remove and clean the mussels, straining all the liquor thoroughly. Then make this sauce: Fry two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in butter for a few minutes, but do not let them brown; add about a teaspoonful of flour, and, while the onions are blending, add the liquor of the mussels, stirring it in slowly. Cook this mixture for a few minutes; then add a tablespoonful of vinegar, the same quantity of chopped parsley and pepper and salt to taste. Butter a shallow earthen or wooden baking dish; in the bottom spread a layer of the sauce, lay the mussels on top of it and cover them with the balance of the sauce. Over all this spread a thin coating of breadcrumbs; butter and bake in bag until they have browned. Serve in the same dish in which they were baked.

Boxed Oysters (Virginia Style).—Take crusty rolls, cut off the top and scoop out the hearts leaving them each like a box. Fill the space with oysters, seasoning with salt, pepper and butter and sprinkling over them some of the crumb of the roll that you have removed. Put bits of butter on top, then replace the cover. Set the rolls in the buttered bag and pour the strained oyster liquor over them. Put into a hot oven and bake for fifteen minutes. Serve hot. Lemon juice or a little mace is sometimes used for seasoning the oysters.

Spindled Oysters and Bacon.—For two dozen large oysters have two dozen thin slices bacon, and a half dozen slices crisp toast. Have ready a half dozen slender steel skewers. Fill these skewers with alternate slices of bacon and oysters, running the skewer crosswise through the eye of the oyster and threading the bacon by one corner, so that each slice blankets an oyster. Do not crowd. Lay the skewers in a buttered bag, and cook in a quick oven ten minutes. Lay each spindle with its contents undisturbed on a slice of toast, pour the drip from the bag over them and serve at once.

CHAPTER VII.