The National tribune., 1882-02-25

pay tardy homage to that excellent little mol
lusc which is preferred by connoisseurs even to
the oyster itself
What number of oysters person can swallow
at sitting seems a difficult question to decide
Brllfat-Savarin declares that it was no uncom-
mon thing at great feasts where oysters formed
the Introductory dish for several of the guests to
eat gsOss of them-twelve Dozen and a hun
dred and fortg-four! He calculated that such a
number would weigh three pounds, and that
sml the Gargantuan consumer could proceed
comfortably afterward with his dinner whereas
had 1t been three pounds of meat he had ingested
he would have been obliged to cry, Hold
enough" Brillat-Savarin himself at his ceIe-
brated luncheon to his two old friends of the
Rue du BAG, offers them each two dozen as
whet. And he tells an anecdote of friend of
his, great amateur, to whom he offered sur-
felt of oysters, but that after his friend had ac-
complished his thirty second Dozen and was still
proceeding vigorously, the host thought it time
to suggest dinner, at which his friend behaved
himself as hungry man ought. This seems to
settle the question of the digestblity of the oys-
ter, for Brillat-Savarin is generally trustworthy
The eight or at the most, the dozen provided as
omy need not brighten the weakest digestion
The best thing to drink with them is a claret-
glass OF stout (only one, please; but the nervous
If they have any doubt, can take tumbler of
w3rm milk, which will speedily dissolve our
crustacean friend, unless, indeed small glass of
gin be preferred, which is the best dissolvent
But gin at the beginning of dinner, as a coup
dGt0nt! Now the author of the AlmanGch des
Gou'mdnds says that only white wine commonly
Chaballs, can be drunk with oysters. How then,
proceed with Ctn Ordinaire2 The fine wines must
begin with the soup so that dinner which be-
gins with oysters is an expensive affair. More
over, this shell-fsh nourishes encrusts, and de-
posts on the palate glutinous substance which
destroys its delicscy and prevents due apprecia-
ton of the fiavors of the following dishes. Who
shall decide? What does it signify? There are
those who would prefer to die of an oyster than
OF a rose in aromatic pain.
In France there are twenty or thirty ways of
dressing crustaceans, and nearly as many in
America. The scalloped oyster, and perhaps an
oyster omelette, are the wretched achievements
of most of our best cookery books If fair read
ers will try the following Provencal recipe they
will not have read this article in vain. In Eng
land it is best to be sparing with shallot, garlic,
and all these kind of herbs. For the rest dill
gently follow the instructions Oysters au gra-
tin.-Take the required number of oysters
Scald them in a saucepan in their own juice
Take them out; drain them in baking-dish OF
scallop-shells with a little sweet OIL Season
them with some chopped shallot, parsley, and an
anchovy minced fine; pepper and salt to taste.
~ @
them with a few drops of olive-oil put them in
the oven for few minutes lit depends on the
heat of the OVEN, and brown either with sala-
mander or before the fire. Just before serving,
squeeze lemon over em."-LOndOn World.