One-half cup butter, three tablespoons flour, yolks of three eggs. One
pint chicken stock (or veal), one tablespoonful lemon juice, one-eighth
teaspoon pepper, one level teaspoon salt. Beat the butter and flour
together until smooth and white. Then add salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Gradually pour boiling stock on this mixture and simmer for ten minutes.
Beat the yolks of eggs in a saucepan, gradually pouring the cooked sauce
upon them. Pour into a double boiler containing boiling water in lower
part of utensil. Stir the mixture for one and one-half minutes. Into
this put two dozen large oysters and let cook until edges curl up and
serve hot.
Captain Cropper, an old Marylander, had a restaurant that was much
patronized by good livers, and in addition to the usual Southern dishes
he specialized on terrapin a la Maryland, sending back to his native
State for the famous diamond-back terrapin. His recipe for this was as
follows: