The Cook Book, by "Oscar" of the Waldorf

Cut as many slices of bread as are required, trim off the crusts, and toast them to a delicate brown ; butter them, and lay on each slice a very thin piece of smoked salmon ; sprinkle over with pepper, cover with a sheet of buttered paper, and place them in a brisk oven for a few minutes. When very hot, arrange the pieces of toast on a hot dish, on which has been spread a folded napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve. Sardine Toast. Scrape the skin off some sardines, split them in halves, lengthwise and remove the bones. Lay the sardines on a plate, pour some of their oil over them, cover with another plate and place them in a moderate oven until heated all through. Cut the required number of slices about three- fourths of an inch thick off a stale square loaf, toast them to a delicate brown on both sides and butter them. Cut the toast into fingers and lay a sardine on each ; dust them over lightly with salt and a very small quantity of cayenne pepper, and squeeze some lemon juice over them. Spread a folded napkin or an ornamental dish-paper over a hot dish, arrange the fingers of toast neatly on it, garnish with a border of nicely picked and washed watercress, and serve. The above makes a very tasty breakfast dish and is very quickly prepared. Sardines and Anchovy Toast. Clean well three anchovies, put them into a mortar with one teaspoonful of anchovy paste, one ounce of butter and a seasoning of cayenne pepper and grated nutmeg and pound them to a smooth paste, then pass it through a fine hair sieve. Toast me thin slices of bread and cut them into pieces about the breadth and length of a sardine. Wash some sardines in hot water, wipe them dry, divide into fillets by litting them down the back and take the bone out. Spread the pounded anchovy on the toast and lay a filleted sardine on top of each piece. Pile the pieces of toast on a dish in couples, crossing one another like lattice work and garnish the dish with chopped hard-boiled eggs. Shrimp Toast. Fry some slices of crumb of bread in butter, then cut them into rounds with a two-inch cutter. When cold, mask the fried rounds with shrimp butter, arrange a star of trimmed shrimp's tails on the top of each and sprinkle a little chopped parsley in the center. Arrange the toasts on a dish over which has been spread a folded napkin. Salmon Montpelier. Cut about eight pounds from the middle of a large salmon, put it into a braising pan with a few sliced carrots and onions, one-fourth pound of butter, a bunch of thyme, basil, and half a dozen bay leaves, three quarts of stock, two quarts of water, and one-half bottle of chablis. Place the pan over the fire until the liquor begins to boil, then move it to the side and simmer it gently for an hour. Blanch in equal quantities some chives and parsley, place them in a mortar with one or two boned anchovies, and pound them well together with four ounces of butter and a small quantity of cayenne pepper. When quite smooth place the mixture on a plate, and set it on the ice. When the salmon is cooked, leave it in the liquor until cold, then diin it and spread the above mixture over on both sides. Place it on an oval dish, decorate it with lobster spawn, garnish the dish with truffles, parsley, chopped whites of eggs, and croutons of aspic jelly; fill up the cavity in the body of the salmon with parsley, and serve. Pickled Salmon, Turkish Style.