Salads, sandwiches, and savouries

The first, and indeed, the only purely English hors d’ceuvre are oysters, carefully opened, served in the deep half shell, four to six for each guest, thin shces of delicate brown bread and butter, quartered lemon, and coralline pepper being handed round with them, or served on a plate made for the purpose. Huitres Nature. — Roll out thinly some anchovy paste, and dust generously with coralline pepper, or add a drop or two of tabasco to the paste, cut it into squares, prick it, and bake till crisp. When cold place on each a slice of peeled cucumber, the same of lemon (removing all pith, peel, and pips), and lastly a bearded oyster; season lightly with lemon juice and a tiny dust of cayenne pepper, and serve two or three to each guest. Huttree au Caviar. — Stamp out rounds of Hovis bread (or use if preferred fried croutes), place on each a slice of tomato, then a little heap of caviar, and on this a bearded oyster ; season with lemon juice and coralline pepper and serve. Caviar a la Mignonne. — Stir together in a basin two tablespoonfuls of best salad oil, one tablespoonful of strained lemon juice, and the contents of a small pot of caviar ; cut a slice off six small rich-coloured ripe tomatoes, and remove all the pulp with a spoon; season the insides of these tomatoes with lemon juice, salad oil, and a little coralline pepper, and stand them on ice till wanted. Meanwhile chop up the pulp, adding another tomato if needed, with a hard-boiled egg cut into dice, and mix this carefully with the caviar, &c., and fill up the tomatoes with the mixture, piling it up well in the centre, and laying either a shelled and seasoned prawn or a well washed and boned anchovy fillet, curled up, on the top of all ; dust with coralline pepper and minced parsley, and serve. Groutes au Caviar. — Fry some small round croutes, and whilst hot dust with minced chives and coralline pepper, then when cold pile up with caviar previously mixed with a few drops of good oil, lemon juice, and coralline pepper. The large-berried Astrachan caviar is best for hors d’oeuvre, but as this must be used quite fresh, the tinned dark green caviar is most generally used. This occasionally gets dry, and in consequence a trifle tasteless. In this case, beat it up with enough oil to moisten it, season with lemon juice, coralline pepper, and a little very finely minced shallot, and serve as before. Anchois a V Imperials. — These are much like the French bateaux d’anchois. Have ready some cold biscuit-crisp square croutons, lay across each diagonally four anchovy fillets, sprinkle with oil, lemon juice, and coralline pepper, and fill the angles thus formed alternately with hard-boiled and minced yolk and white of egg, minced scarlet chillies, and minced olives, or, failing these, parsley. Tartelettes a la Madame. — Have ready some tiny biscuit-crisp boat shapes of anchovy pastry, and pile these up with cold boiled and minced potato (choose new or waxy ones) , minced anchovy, capers, HORS D’GEUYRE. and cucumber peas (^.e., cucumber cut to shape with a vegetable cutter), mixed well with mayonnaise sauce.