Oyster Pie

A rich oyster pie made with cream and baked in a puff pastry and bread shell.

Line a pie dish with puff paste, and fill it with slices of stale bread; butter the paste that covers the edge of the dish, lay a cover of puff paste over the pie, press the edges very lightly together, trim them, and bake quickly in a hot oven. Mean while drain the liquor from one quart of oysters and chop them fine with a sharp, thin bladed knife. Blend a teaspoonful of corn starch in a very little cold milk, pour over it one-half pint of boiling milk or cream, put it over the fire in a saucepan, stir till it thickens, and then add one ounce of butter; when the butter has been well mixed in, season the chopped oysters with salt and pepper, stir them into the thickened milk, let simmer (stirring all the time), for five minutes, and then take from off the fire. When the bread pie is baked remove from the oven, and while still hot carefully take off the upper crust; remove the bread, and fill the dish with the thickened cream or milk and chopped oysters, replace the top crust, put the pie again in the oven till it is thoroughly hot and then serve.