Culinary jottings

" Mock-crab" is the name given to a very good hors d'oeuvre in which cheese plays a prominent part; it is made in this way : — a quarter of a pound of prawn meat, two ounces of good fresh cheese, a tea-spoonful of mustard powder, a dessert-spoonful of salad oil, a dessert-spoonful of " anchovy vinegar," and a liberal dusting of spiced pepper. Pound everything (omitting the prawns) and "^ork the mixture till it looks like a very thick mayonnaise sauce, adding oil if necessary to obtain that result : when ready, mingle it with the prawn meat, pounded, &c., as in the former receipt, and trim it into a shapely little mould for serving. Even without any prawn meat a very good mock-crab can be made : a table-spoonful of anchovy sauce supplies the fishy flavour. " Pulled bread" accompanies the cheese in the place of biscuits. You can make it easily enough, if you bake at home, as follows : — Make a pound loaf, and when the bread is all but done, take it from the oven, tear the crumb from the inside with a fork in irregular pieces, place them on a buttered baking tin and crisp them in the oven. Use coarse grained oatmeal for your oat biscuits, and send them up piping hot from the griddle. As a general rule the oat cake made in India is far too thin : the paste should be rolled at least a quarter of an inch thick before being cut into cakes. " Cheese fingers" should be made in these proportions, — a quarter of a pound of puff paste, a pinch of salt, two ounces of grated Parmesan, or other mild cheese, and a very little cayenne, Nepaul pepper, or a few drops of " tabasco." Work the ingredients together, roU the paste out about half an inch thick, cut it into oblong shapes, about three inches long, bake and serve as hot as possible, on a napkin. " Devilled ham" is sold in tins, it is as good a thing as can be got at a pinch, if you have no time to make a hors dUptivre at home. It is not as hot as its name would lead you to suppose : it is merely potted ham well peppered. Buy your "Bombay ducks" in tins from Treacher and Co., of that city. I discovered this in Piccadillij of all places in the world. Jackson and Co. import the " ducks" from Bombay neatly flattened out, floured, and packed in oblong tins. When jou remember the number of hands through which the bazar-bought fish passes, the flies that have settled upon it, and the impossibility of washing dried fish, you will, I hope, agree with me that my recommendation is absolutely philanthropical. If desirous of obtaining the best potted meat in the market, buy Brand's. [illustration: chapter heading] Savoury Toasts.