OYSTERS A LA MODE. 29 



with barley or rice to keep their shape, bake them 

 in a brisk oven till cooked. Crush some vermicelli 

 on a board with a rolling-pin, turn out the pastry 

 cases from the moulds, brush them over with white 

 of egg, and roll them in the vermicelli. Take out 

 the rice and fill in an oyster mixture, made of oysters 

 and button mushrooms (two oysters to one small 

 mushroom), all cut into dice. Warm them in a little 

 white sauce, into which a little anchovy sauce and 

 lemon-juice have been added. Make some little 

 paste handles to imitate baskets, and put them 

 across ; cover the top with fried parsley and serve 

 very hot. Allemande sauce may be used instead 

 of the white sauce. 



Oyster Patties (Old-Fashioned). 



Petits Pates d'Huitres a I'Ancien Regime. 



Roll out some light puff pastry half an inch 

 thick, stamp it in rounds with a pastry cutter two 

 inches and a half in diameter, press a small cutter 

 an inch and a half in diameter on the middle of 

 each round to the depth of a quarter of an inch. 

 Place the rounds on a buttered tin, and bake them 

 in a quick oven till they are risen, and lightly 

 browned ; then take them out, remove the smaller 

 centre-piece, scoop out a little of the inside and fill 

 the empty space with the prepared oysters ; put on 

 the lid and serve. Prepare the oysters by bearding 

 them and cutting them into small pieces, with an 

 inch of lemon-rind, a grate of nutmeg, a tiny dust 

 of cayenne and a pinch of pepper, and boil for 

 seven or eight minutes. Strain the liquid, and 

 thicken it with a dessertspoonful of flour and half 

 an ounce of butter. Mix in two tablespoonfuls of 



