Oyster Toast

This is an assembly note rather than a full method: it leans on two other entries in the book, Broiled Oysters and Milk Toast, and adds celery. The whole thing lives or dies on timing, since both components deteriorate within a minute of being finished.

• Assemble at the last secondMilk toast turns to paste and broiled oysters weep liquor as they sit. Have the toast soaking, the oysters under the broiler, and the plates warm at the same moment, then serve immediately.
• A pint of oystersThat is a liquid pint of shucked oysters with their liquor, roughly 2 cups, and perhaps 16 to 24 depending on size. The recipe gives no yield; a pint would stretch to about four as a first course, or two as a supper dish.
• What broiled oysters meant hereFarmer's broiled oysters are drained and dried, dipped in melted butter and then in crumbs, and broiled on a buttered wire broiler until the juices flow; check the book's own entry for the exact crumb it specifies. Under a modern overhead broiler that is a matter of two or three minutes, turning once. Past that they shrink and toughen.
• Drying mattersWet oysters steam rather than brown and the crumbs slide off. Drain them in a sieve, then blot on a towel before buttering.
• Milk toastNot toast with milk poured over it so much as toast moistened with hot salted milk. A thin white sauce (1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour) makes a richer bed, though that is nearer the book's cream toast than its milk toast. Cut the slices small enough that each takes two or three oysters.
• The celeryRaw and chopped very fine, as the recipe says. It supplies crunch against the milk and butter, so sprinkle it on at serving rather than letting it sit and wilt on hot toast.
• SeasoningThe original assumes salt and pepper are already in the toast's milk and on the oysters. Taste the milk before you soak the bread; oysters are salty and the dish overshoots easily.