Iced Savory Soufflé.—This dish can be made of fish, game, or chicken, but is considered best made of crab. Cut up the crab, or whatever it may be, into small pieces; let it soak in mayonnaise sauce for two or three hours. Have some well-flavored aspic jelly, half liquid; whip it till it is very frothy; put some of this at the bottom of the dish it is to be served in—a silver one is most effective; then place a layer of crab well seasoned, and fill it up with aspic and crab alternately until the dish is nearly full; place a band of stiff paper round, and fill in with whipped aspic; set it on ice for two hours; take off the paper, and serve.
Savories.—Within the last few years, which may, perhaps, be called the renaissance of cooking in England, since Kettner, in his “Book of the Table,” shows that in the Middle Ages that country was famous for its cuisine, while France was still benighted—within the last few years, then, there has grown up a fashion of introducing preparations called savories. They vary very much, from the tiny little bouchette of something very piquant, to be taken between courses as an appetizer—which, I believe, was the original idea—to quite important dishes suitable as entrées for formal breakfasts or suppers. But it is with the original “savory” as a piquant mouthful that they will take their place in this book. So important a part have they come to play in English menus (I am not now speaking of simple dinners) that the invention of a new “savory” is something to be proud of, and it is said that the very best are invented by the bons vivants themselves, seldom by the chef. One lady has written a book of which savories is the only branch of cooking treated, and she says in her preface, “Savories being at present so fashionable, and novelties in them so eagerly inquired for, I have been induced to publish a small book on the subject.”
In looking over any list of small savories we find many of our old friends in it, such as cheese canapés, angels on horseback, anchovy toast, etc. With these familiar dainties we will have nothing to do, only the mention of them will serve to show that any little piquant morsel may be used as an appetizer served as hors d’œuvres.
The Savage Club Canapés.—These must be made small enough not to require dividing—in other words, can be eaten at one mouthful. Cut slices of stale Vienna bread a quarter of an inch thick, stamp out from them with a very small cutter circles about the size of a fifty-cent piece. Sauté these in a little hot butter till they are a very pale brown. Lay them on paper when done, to absorb grease. Stone as many small olives as you have guests; fillet half as many small anchovies—that is to say, split them, and remove the bones and scales; wash them, dry them, and roll each one up as small as possible, and insert it in an olive in place of the stone. Now trim one end of the olive so that it will stand; then put a drop of thick mayonnaise on the centre of one of the rounds of fried bread, which, of course, must be quite cold; stand the stuffed olive on it neatly, and put one drop of mayonnaise on the top, to cover the opening in the olive. A variation, and I think an improvement, on this bouchée, is to use a little softened aspic to attach the olive, and a small quantity finely chopped to crown it. Still another plan is to put a tiny disk of bright-red beet on the top, using aspic to cement it there.
Canapés á la Bismarck.—Cut circles with a small cutter from slices of stale bread a quarter of an inch thick; sauté in butter till they are a light brown; spread over each when cold a thin layer of anchovy butter; curl round on each an anchovy well washed, boned, and trimmed; sprinkle very finely shred olives over them. Anchovy butter is two parts butter and one of anchovy paste.
Caviare Canapés.—Cut some slices of bread a quarter of an inch thick; cut disks from them with a small round cutter; fry them pale brown in butter. When about to use them chop a large handful of water-cress leaves very fine, taking care to press them in a cloth to remove all water before you begin to chop; when they are almost as fine as pulp, mix with them an equal amount of butter; when well blended, spread each canapé with it, and spread a layer of caviare on the top.
Prawns en Surprise.—Cut some small rounds of bread and butter, not more than two inches in diameter and a quarter inch thick. Peel some prawns; steep them in mayonnaise sauce a few minutes; place three on each round of bread-and-butter, with a small piece of water-cress on each. Place over all some whipped aspic jelly; strew lobster coral over them.
Prince of Wales Canapés.—Take some fine prawns, three anchovies, two gherkins, and two truffles. Bone the anchovies and wash them, peel the prawns, and then cut all the ingredients into very small dice. Make a sauce as follows: Bruise a hard-boiled yolk of egg in a mortar with a tablespoonful of salad oil, a saltspoonful of mustard; mix with this an anchovy and a teaspoonful of tarragon that has been scalded and chopped; pound all well together, and pass through a sieve with a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar and a speck of cayenne; mix enough of this with the prawns, etc., to season the mixture. Salt, it will be observed, is not mentioned, because the anchovies and prawns may be salt, but this can only be known to the cook by tasting. Butter some small water biscuits (crackers), put a small teaspoonful of the mixture on each, and cover with finely chopped aspic. Garnish by putting a spot of green gherkin on one, a spot of red beet on another, and on a third one of truffle, and so on alternately.
Shrimp Canapés.—Fry some rounds of bread as directed for other canapés. Make some shrimp butter by pounding equal quantities of shrimps, from which heads, tails, and shells have been removed, and fresh butter till they form a smooth mass; spread the fried bread with it. Place whole shrimps on the top in the shape of a rosette, in the centre of which put a tiny pinch of chopped parsley.
Cheese Biscuits à la St. James.—Take three tablespoonfuls of the finest flour, half a pound of cream curds, and five ounces of Brie cheese, which has been carefully scraped, and a pinch of salt; pound all in a mortar; add five ounces of softened butter and three eggs, to make a very stiff paste, which must be rolled very thin, and cut into round biscuits. Bake in a very quick oven, and serve hot.