The Cook Book, by "Oscar" of the Waldorf

Pick one-half pint of shrimps, put them into a mortar with two or three ounces of butter, season with a little salt and cayenne pepper, and pound them to a paste, moisten it with a few drops of tarragon vinegar. Cut some rather thin slices of bread and butter, spread half of them with the paste, fold the remaining half over these, and press them lightly together. Cut the sandwiches into fingers or quarters, arrange them on a folded napkin, or an ornamental dish-paper, garnish with parsley and serve. Aspic of Fillets of Soles. Fillet the soles, butter a baking-dish, put in the fillets, squeeze a little lemon juice over and season with salt and pepper; cover the fillets with a sheet of buttered paper and bake them for ten minutes in the oven. When cooked press the soles between two plates till cold. Put a layer of plain aspic jelly into a mould and leave till set. Cut the fillets of soles into small equal-sized rounds, and arrange them tastefully with some fillets of anchovies on the set aspic jelly. Sprinkle a little chopped parsley over them and cover with another layer of aspic jelly. Proceed in this manner, putting alternate layers of sole and aspic until the mould is full, then pack it in pounded ice. Turn the aspic out of the mould onto a dish, stick some slices of hard-boiled eggs on it with ravigote butter, and serve. Anchovy Toast. Thoroughly cleanse and fillet the number of anchovies to be used, chop them small, or crush them with a silver knife. Put this into a small stewpan with some salad oil, warm slightly, and set it 'on one side. Cut some slices of bread, nearly half an inch thick, and trim to an even oblong shape; toast them on both sides on a gridiron, basting with a brush dipped in oil. Spread the anchovy over, and sprinkle on all a little chopped parsley. Push the gridiron with the dressed slices on it into a sharp oven for a few minutes, and serve hot. Boned (Galantine of) Eel. Clean a large eel and remove the backbone; make a mince of the thin rind of a lemon, one tablespoonful each of parsley and sweet herbs, and a little ground mace, cayenne and salt; spread this over the inside of the eel and roll it up, commencing with the head. Tie the fish up in a cloth and boil in equal parts of water and vinegar until it is quite tender. Let the stock and the fish get quite cold, take out the fish, and serve. Egg and Anchovy Toast. Remove the shell from four cold hard boiled eggs and chop them; put a saucepan over the fire with one ounce of butter, one teaspoonful of cornmeal blended smooth in a little milk, one teaspoonful each of anchovy sauce and vinegar, a seasoning of pepper and salt, and one pint of milk; stir over the fire until boiling, and then put in the chopped eggs, stirring them well in. Toast three rounds of bread, butter, and spread the mixture over, and serve hot. Lobster Toast. « Pick all the meat from the shell of a large lobster and chop it fine ; work two or three tablespoonfuls of cream into one ounce of butter, then mix with it the chopped lobster, adding a boned, washed and chopped anchovy, and salt and pepper to taste. work all together with the blade of a knife, then mix in lightly two or three tablespoonfuls of washed and chopped watercress. Cut some slices of bread about one-fourth inch in thickness, trim off all the crusts and toast them; cut them into squares, butter over and spread some of the lobster mixture on each piece. Strew finely grated breadcrumbs over, and place them in a brisk oven for a few minutes. Spread a folded napkin, or an ornamental dish-paper over a hot dish, arrange the pieces of toast nicely on it, garnish with a border of well-washed watercress, and serve. Salmon Toast.