Devilled Crabs
Twelve heavy crabs (hard shell); one-half pint of cream; one tablespoon of flour; four tablespoons of butter; one tablespoon of chopped parsley; one tablespoon of lemon juice; one-fourth of a nutmeg, grated; one teaspoon of mustard; one and one-half pint of grated bread crumbs; onefourth of a teaspoon of pepper; two teaspoons of salt. Boil the crabs thirty minutes. Drain and open them, pick out all the meat, and wash and wipe the shells. Heat the cream in a small saucepan; thoroughly mix the flour and mustard and two table- : spoons of the butter, and stir the mixture into the boiling cream. Boil two minutes, remove from the fire, and add the crab meat and seasoning. Mix well, and put the mixture in the crab shell. Sprinkle with the crumbs, and place the remainder of the butter, cut in small pieces, on top of the crumbs. Cook in a hot oven until the crumbs are brown, first placing the grate of the oven under the pan, so the heat will not be too great at the bottom. Serve on a bed of parsley, arranging the claws on it.