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1 pint oysters with their liquor
⅛ teaspoon ground mace
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons each flour and butter, cooked together to form
a roux
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Place the oysters in a saucepan, along with their own liquor.
Add the mace and bring to a simmer. When the oysters are plump
(a very short time), remove them from the pan. Add the wine to
the juices and reduce a bit. Add the roux and thicken the sauce.
Return the oysters to the sauce and serve. |
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SOUTHERN
HAM |
The hams that drip at you in the meat-market case in our
time are not at all like the hams of old days. The old-style
hams are still available, but they come from the South, to
be more specific, Virginia. Western and eastern hams, for
the most part, are injected with water, salt, and chemicals
until they blow up like a balloon . . . and shrink like a
popped balloon when you bake them. In Virginia the old way
is still used. The ham is cured with salt and pepper,
smoked, and hung to dry, and I mean dry. The weight loss is
terrific since there is little water left in the meat. In
the food business, water is where the weight is and
therefore the money is in the water. You can understand why
a Virginia ham will cost you around fifty dollars. The most
common came from the state is that of Smithfield.
Since the ham has been cured for so long, it must be highly
salted. Before cooking, place the ham in a sink full of hot
water, and scrub hard with a good bristle brush. Soak for 2
days in fresh
To bake a ham you need to boil it first. The instructions
will be the package. In order to reduce the salt put the ham
in a big pot, cover with water, and bring to a simmer. Then
discard the water and follow the directions on the ham
package. If you let the ham cool in the water a
bit rather than take it out right away. It will remain
moist. The ham is then baked and glazed.
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