The first subject, when one takes up sandwich-making, is bread. If many sandwiches are required, as for a reception or picnic, I prefer to bake the bread specially for them ; there is less waste and the work is so much easier. For this pur- pose I keep on hand plenty of baking powder cans, one-pound and half-pound sizes, and also a few oblong tins which have held one pound of cocoa. Nothing can excel these as molds for baking bread for picnic sandwiches ; it is tender, almost crustless, it needs no trimming to make two slices accord in size and it bakes or steams much more quickly than in larger tins. Make the bread twenty-four hours before it is required and try to have it fine-grained. Fill the cans half full of dough SANDWICHES 215 and set to rise. When almost at the top of the tins put to bake with the Uds off. When you have brown bread mixture, fill three-quarters full — it does not rise so much as bread which has yeast in it. Slip the small loaves out of the tins as soon as taken from the oven or steamer and set on a wire stand to cool ; then wrap in towels and put away in the bread-box until required. The next consideration is the butter. Put a pound of butter (if you have many sandwiches to make) in a mixing bowl and with a slitted wooden spoon beat it thoroughly to a fine, light cream, exactly as for cake making. The butter is much easier to spread, it is more economical, then it is ready to divide into portions and blend with anything to make what is called a flavored butter, the most delicate of all fillings. Before preparing the sandwiches, if they are to be used at a luncheon or entertainment where other dishes accompany A Slitted Wooden Spoon them, be careful that the flavoring is different from the salad with which they are served. It is really in better taste to offer nothing with a salad or cold meat except plain sandwiches of bread and butter ; still, fashion seems to demand a flavored nibble as a salad accompaniment. Fish, lobster, or shrimp salads are most appetizing with sandwiches of Boston brown bread holding a tender lettuce-leaf or a sprig of watercress dipped in mayonnaise. Serve sandwiches of mild cheese flavored by mustard or vinegar with green salads. White bread sandwiches holding tender young nasturtium leaves be- tween the buttered folds go well with salads of meat or fish. Garnish a plateful of this variety with a few nasturtium leaves and blossoms. Finely cut peppergrass, chives, endive, or celery are all fitting accompaniments to sandwiches, which are offered with a meat or chicken salad. Cucumbers and to- 216 THE HOME COOK BOOK matoes thinly sliced and spread with mayonnaise make a delicious bite between buttered bread. Cut with a small cookie cutter rounds of bread, slightly larger than the slice of tomato or cucumber, and put the vegetable between them. These, as well as the herb sandwiches, must not be made until imme- diately before serving.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The first subject, when one takes up sandwich-making, is bread. If many sandwiches are required, as for a reception or picnic, I prefer to bake the bread specially for them ; there is less waste and the work is so much easier. For this purpose I keep on hand plenty of baking powder cans, one-pound and half-pound sizes, and also a few oblong tins which have held one pound of cocoa. Nothing can excel these as molds for baking bread for picnic sandwiches ; it is tender, almost crustless, it needs no trimming to make two slices accord in size and it bakes or steams much more quickly than in larger tins. Make the bread twenty-four hours before it is required and try to have it fine-grained. Fill the cans half full of dough and set to rise. When almost at the top of the tins put to bake with the lids off. When you have brown bread mixture, fill three-quarters full — it does not rise so much as bread which has yeast in it. Slip the small loaves out of the tins as soon as taken from the oven or steamer and set on a wire stand to cool ; then wrap in towels and put away in the bread-box until required. The next consideration is the butter. Put a pound of butter (if you have many sandwiches to make) in a mixing bowl and with a slitted wooden spoon beat it thoroughly to a fine, light cream, exactly as for cake making. The butter is much easier to spread, it is more economical, then it is ready to divide into portions and blend with anything to make what is called a flavored butter, the most delicate of all fillings. Before preparing the sandwiches, if they are to be used at a luncheon or entertainment where other dishes accompany A Slitted Wooden Spoon them, be careful that the flavoring is different from the salad with which they are served. It is really in better taste to offer nothing with a salad or cold meat except plain sandwiches of bread and butter ; still, fashion seems to demand a flavored nibble as a salad accompaniment. Fish, lobster, or shrimp salads are most appetizing with sandwiches of Boston brown bread holding a tender lettuce-leaf or a sprig of watercress dipped in mayonnaise. Serve sandwiches of mild cheese flavored by mustard or vinegar with green salads. White bread sandwiches holding tender young nasturtium leaves between the buttered folds go well with salads of meat or fish. Garnish a plateful of this variety with a few nasturtium leaves and blossoms. Finely cut peppergrass, chives, endive, or celery are all fitting accompaniments to sandwiches, which are offered with a meat or chicken salad. Cucumbers and tomatoes thinly slicedd and spread with mayonnaise make a delicious bite between buttered bread. Cut with a small cookie cutter rounds of bread, slightly larger than the slice of tomato or cucumber, and put the vegetable between them. These, as well as the herb sandwiches, must not be made until immediately before serving.

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