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Oysters, Vol-Au-Vent Of

Put into a basin half a pound of dried and sifted flour, salt it slightly, and make it into a soft paste by stirring into it the yolk of an egg, which has been beaten up with the strained juice of half a lemon and a little cold water. Put the paste on a slab, and lay half a pound of fresh butter in the middle of it, then roll it out four or five times, and put it in a cold place for an hour. At the end of that time roll it out again once or twice, and leave it a little more than an inch thick. Dip a knife into hot water, and cut the paste to the size and shape of the dish on which the vol-au-vent is to be served. Mark the cover by making an even incision the third of an inch deep, and an inch from the edge all round, brush it over with yolk of egg, place it on a baking-tin, and bake it in a hot oven until it is well risen, and lightly browned. Draw it out, and lift off the cover with the point of a sharp knife, scoop out the soft paste from the inside, and return the vol-au-vent to the oven for a few minutes to dry. When ready for serving, fill the centre with oysters prepared as follows. Beard two dozen oysters, and put the beards and the liquor into a saucepan with an inch of lemon-rind, a small pinch of salt, half an inch of mace, half a grain of cayenne, and the tenth part of a nutmeg, grated. Boil quickly for six or eight minutes, then strain the gravy. Mix a table-spoonful of flour smoothly with two ounces of butter. Add a quarter of a pint of cream and the oyster liquor, and simmer gently until the sauce is smooth and thick. Put in the oysters, simmer two or three seconds only, and serve. Time, about half an hour to bake the vol-au-vent; twenty minutes to prepare the oysters. Probable cost, 5s. Sufficient for four or five persons.