CANAPÉ LORENZO
- 2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
- 2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
- 1 slice of onion.
- 1 cupful of stock.
- 1 cupful of crab meat.
- 1 tablespoonful of milk.
- 2½ tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.
- 2½ tablespoonfuls of Swiss cheese.
- Salt, pepper, and cayenne.
Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, and fry in it one slice of onion chopped fine, but do not brown; then add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but do not brown; add the stock slowly, and when smooth add the cooked crab meat. Season highly with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and let simmer for six or eight minutes.
Put into another saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but not brown; then add the milk and stir in the cheese, and let cook just long enough to soften the cheese. Remove from the fire and let cool; then form the cheese mixture into six balls. Have ready six slices or circles of buttered toast, or bread fried in butter, and cover them with a layer of the crab mixture, and in the center of each piece place a ball of the cheese. Place in a hot oven for five minutes.
This is a good supper dish, and may be made of lobster, fish, or chicken.
Serve with water-cress.
CHEESE AND CHEESE DISHES
Varieties. Among the best cheeses are Stilton, Cheshire, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Rocquefort, Edam, Gruyère, and Parmesan. The Parmesan is a high-flavored, hard Italian cheese, and is mostly used grated for cooking. Our American dairy cheeses are much esteemed, and are largely exported to foreign markets; but as they have no distinctive names, it is difficult to find a second time any one that is particularly liked. The Pineapple cheese is the only one that differs radically from the other so-called American cheeses. The foreign cheeses are, nearly all of them, very successfully imitated here. Cheese is served with crackers, wafer biscuits, or with celery after the dessert, or with salad before the hot dessert. Any of the cheese dishes, such as soufflé, ramekins, omelets, etc., are served before the dessert. Cheese straws are used with salad. Serving. Cheeses small enough to be passed whole, like Edam, Pineapple, etc., have the top cut off, plain or in notches, and are wrapped in a neatly plaited napkin. The top is replaced after the service, so as to keep the cheese moist. A Stilton or Chester cheese is cut in two, and one half, wrapped in a napkin, served at a time. Rocquefort and Gorgonzola are served in the large slice cut from the cheese and laid on a folded napkin. American dairy cheese is cut into small uniform pieces. The soft cheeses, Brie, Neuchâtel, etc., are divested of the tinfoil and scraped before being passed. They are placed on a lace paper. Fresh butter, wafer biscuits, and celery are passed with cheese.