Braised Beef With Oysters

Two pounds of round steak, one cupful of oysters, one cupful of water or stock, one dash of mace, one clove, some allspice, one rounding teaspoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour, one-third teaspoonful of white pepper, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of salt, a pinch of summer savory, and one-half onion, grated. The beef must be in one solid piece. Mix the salt, pepper, and summer savory with the onion; rub the beef well with it on both sides; lay in the kettle with the water, spices, and half of the butter, rubbed with half of the flour. Cover closely and simmer gently until the beef is tender, which will take from two to three hours, or if the beef is tough, possibly a little more. When tender, heat the frying pan very hot, melt in it a part of the remaining butter; lay the beef in the butter, turn once, frying until the outside is browned. Be careful not to harden it. After placing the beef on a hot platter, fry the oysters in the same pan. Lay the fried oysters on the beef and keep all warm. Strain the gravy, left from stewing the beef, into the frying pan (there should be about one pint; add oyster liquor and water or soup to make up the quantity, if it is scant), mix the rest of the flour until smooth with a few drops of cold water; stir it into the boiling gravy and boil for five minutes; longer if not quite thick enough. Pour around the beef and serve hot.

Left-Over Pot Roast

Use what is left over of a pot roast, running it through the meat chopper. Pare and quarter one large onion, pour boiling water over it and let it stand for about ten minutes. Then run it through the chopper, season with pepper, and add to it a poultry dressing made of one egg, four rolled crackers, sage, salt, and pepper as desired. Put all of this into a bowl and work it into a loaf. Place it in an earthen dish and put into a moderate oven for an hour. Just before serving, remove the cover and let it brown. Then take enough boiled macaroni, drain off the water, and pour over it the brown gravy that has been left from the roast and set it on the back of the stove to simmer. Heat a can of tomato soup and serve with macaroni around the loaf.

Epicurean Pot Roast

Buy the " eye of the beef " which weighs about three pounds. Have the butcher lard it with pork fat. Before cooking remove the larding and place it in a bowl with chopped canned pimientoes and some of the pimiento juice, a few bread crumbs or cracker crumbs to thicken, and a few sprigs of chopped parsley. Work all this together and press back into the vacant larding home of the beef. Place the beef in a covered iron pot on the stove, accompanied by a piece of suet, and sear on the outside, but do not toughen or harden it. Then let it cook with just enough soup stock or water to keep it from burning, over the slowest fire possible for at least three hours. Turn the beef every fifteen minutes. Forty minutes before the meat is cooked, scrape five or six potatoes and put into the pot with the meat to brown. Serve hot or cold.