off their liquor, and wash them in
clean water; pick out the pieces of shells that may be left, put them in
a stew pan with water proportioned to the number of oysters, some salt,
blades of mace, and whole black pepper; stew them a few minutes, then
put them in a pot, and when cold, add as much pale vinegar as will give
the liquor an agreeable acid.

* * * * *

TO MAKE A CURRY OF CATFISH.

Take the white channel catfish, cut off their heads, skin and clean
them, cut them in pieces four inches long, put as many as will be
sufficient for a dish into a stew pan with a quart of water, two onions,
and chopped parsley; let them stew gently till the water is reduced to
half a pint, take the fish out and lay them on a dish, cover them to
keep them hot, rub a spoonful of butter into one of flour, add a large
tea-spoonful of curry powder, thicken the gravy with it, shake it over
the fire a few minutes, and pour it over the fish; be careful to have
the gravy smooth.

* * * * *

TO DRESS A COD'S HEAD AND SHOULDERS.

Take out the gills and the blood from the bone, wash the head very
clean, rub over it a little salt, then lay it on your fish plate; throw
in the water a good handful of salt, with a glass of vinegar, then put
in the fish, and let it boil gently half an hour; if it is a large one,
three quarters; take it up very carefully, strip the skin nicely off,
set it before a brisk fire, dredge it all over with flour, and baste it
well with butter; when the froth begins to rise, throw over it some very
fine white bread crumbs; you must keep basting it all the time to make
it froth well; when it is a fine light brown, dish it up, and garnish it
with a lemon cut in slices, scraped horse-radish, barberries, a few
small fish fried and laid around it, or fried oysters--cut the roe and
liver in slices, and lay over it a little of the lobster out of the
sauce in lumps, and then serve it up.

* * * * *

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR THE COD'S HEAD.

Take a lobster, if it be alive, stick a skewer in the rent of the tail,
(to keep the water out,) throw a handful of salt in the water; when it
boils, put in the lobster, and boil it half an hour; if it has spawn on
it, pick them off, and pound them exceedingly fine in a marble mortar,
and put them into half a pound of good melted butter, then take the meat
out of the lobster, pull it in bits, and put it