1 tablespoonful of butter. 1 gill of boiling water. 3 gills of oyster crackers.
Melt the butter in the water; then stir the crackers into the mixture, that they may all get a slight coating of butter and water. Spread them in a shallow pan and put in a hot oven for ten or twelve minutes. They should be brown and glossy at the end of that time. Serve in a deep dish with oyster soup or oyster stew.
Cut slices of stale bread into half-inch squares. Put into a small frying-pan or granite-ware saucepan six tablespoonfuls of lard, and set on the fire. When the lard is so hot that it smokes all over, put in one square of the bread. If this becomes browned in one minute and a half, the lard is hot enough; if it is not hot enough, make another test very soon. Now put in the rest of the squares of bread,—there should be about half a pint. Fry until brown, which will be in about a minute and a half. While the bread is frying, stir it with a fork, in order that all parts may be equally browned. Take from the fat with a skimmer and drain on brown paper. When the fat has become slightly cooled, strain it through a piece of cheese-cloth and it will be ready to use again.
This bread is to serve with tomato, pea, and other soups.
Break up a pound of maple sugar and put it in a saucepan with half a pint of hot water. Boil for ten minutes. Pour into a pitcher, and when cold, cover, and put in a cool place. It is well to buy maple sugar in the spring and keep it in a cool, dry place for use in making syrup until the fresh syrup comes the next year.
1 gill of flour. 1/2 gill of milk. 1 egg. 1/4 teaspoonful of salt. 1 teaspoonful of sugar. 1/2 tablespoonful of melted butter.
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the milk, and beat the batter until light and smooth. Add the butter, and beat again. Finally add the egg, well beaten. This batter will answer for any kind of fruit.
Core and pare large tart apples. Cut them in slices about one third of an inch thick. Season the slices with nutmeg, then dip them in the batter. Lift them, one by one, from the batter and drop gently into hot fat. Cook for three minutes; then lift from the fat, drain, and serve immediately. Powdered sugar may be sprinkled on the fritters when they are arranged on the dish.