For serving at the beginning of dinner and giving a zest to the appetite, canapés are extremely useful. They may be either hot or cold and made of anything that can be utilized for a sandwich filling. The foundation bread should be two days old and may be toasted or fried crouton fashion. The nicest way is to butter it lightly, then set it in a hot oven to brown delicately, or fry in hot fat. The bread should be cut oblong, diamond shaped, in rounds, or with a cutter that has a fluted edge. While the toast is quite hot, spread with the prepared mixture and serve on a small plate with sprigs of watercress or points of lemon as a garnish. Another way is to cut the bread into delicate fingers, pile it log-cabin fashion, and garnish the centre with a stuffed olive. For cheese canapés sprinkle the toast thickly with grated cheese, well seasoned with salt and pepper. Set in a hot oven until the cheese melts and serve immediately.
Toast lightly diamond-shaped slices of stale bread and spread with a sardine mixture made as follows:--Skin and bone six sardines, put them in a bowl and run to a paste with a silver spoon. Add two tablespoons of lemon juice, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of pepper, two teaspoons of chopped parsley and four tablespoons of creamed butter. Garnish with a border of whites of hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped, and on top scatter shredded olives.
Take roe of any fish, remove skin, salt; set aside over night. Next day beat roe apart, pour boiling water over it and stir; when roe is white, pour off the water and let drain; then put in pan with two tablespoons of oil and salt, pepper, a little vinegar, and mix well. Let stand a few days before using. This caviar may be substituted in all recipes for the Russian caviar or domestic caviar may be procured in some shops.
Cut the bread about one-quarter of an inch thick and two inches square (or round), and after it is toasted spread over each slice a teaspoon of ice cold caviar. Mix one teaspoon of chopped onion and one teaspoon chopped parsley; spread the mixture over the caviar and serve with quarters of lemon.
Cut the bread as for caviar canapés and spread with anchovy paste. Chop separately the yolks and whites of hard-boiled eggs and cover the canapés, dividing them into quarters, with anchovies split in two lengthwise, and using yolks and whites in alternate quarters.
For each person take a thin slice toast covered with anchovy paste. Upon this place whole egg which has been boiled four minutes, so that it can be pealed whole and the yolk is still soft. Around the toast put tomato sauce.
Chop one yellow onion very fine, add four tablespoons of chicken fat (melted), salt to taste. Serve on slices of rye bread. If desired, a hard-boiled egg chopped very fine may be mixed with the onions.
Wash thoroughly several fowls' livers and then let them simmer until tender in a little strong soup stock, adding some sliced mushroom, minced onion, and a little pepper and salt. When thoroughly done mince the whole finely, or pound it in a mortar. Now put it back in the saucepan and mix well with the yolks of sufficient eggs to make the whole fairly moist. Warm over the fire, stirring frequently until the mixture is quite thick, taking care that it does not burn. It should be served upon rounds of toast on a hot dish garnished with parsley.
