Soyer's standard cookery

Prepare some anchovy fillets in oil, and place them across each other using fillets of pimento alternately with those of the anchovies. Garnish as for anchovy fillets, i. e., with the chopped white and yolk of a hard-boiled egg, and chopped parsley. Eel With White Wine and Paprika. Divide the eel into lengths of three and a half inches ; poach in exactly the same way as for matelote, but with white wine and paprika seasoning. Let them cool in their cooking-liquor, cut the pieces lengthwise into large fillets, and cover them with the liquor after all grease has been removed. Eel Au Vert. Stew in butter two ounces of sorrel, one-quarter ounce each of parsley and chervil, a few tarragon leaves, one-quarter ounce of savory, a sprig of green thyme, and a few sage-leaves all of which must be chopped. Remove the skins from two pounds of small eels, remove the heads, and cut into pieces two inches long. Put these pieces with the herbs, stiffen them well, and add one pint of white wine and a little salt and pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of cream. Set to cook for ten minutes, thicken with the yolks of four eggs, and a few drops of lemon juice, and leave to cool in a bowl. This preparation of eel is served very cold. Artichoke Bottoms. Remove the leaves and the hearts of some little artichokes; trim their remaining bases, and plunge each as soon as trimmed into acidulated water lest they blacken. Cook them as Jerusalem artichokes, leave them to cool in their liquor. Drain well, dry and place them in a pan, and marinade them for twenty minutes in oil and lemon juice. This done, garnish them with mayonnaise, or other puree macedoine, or a vegetable salad, etc. Place on a hors-d'oeuvre dish with a garnish of parsley. Smoked Hamburg Beef. Cut it into very thin slices; divide these up and roll into the shape of cones. The slices may also be served flat Dish up at the last moment. Canapes and Toast. In the matter of hors-d'oeuvres, the two above names have the same meaning. The preparation consists of small slices of the crumb of bread, about one-quarter inch thick, slightly toasted and with a garnish on one of their sides, the garnish being a matter of taste. But the best garnish, for canapes or toast, is fresh butter combined with a fine mince of white roast chicken-meat, the meat of shell-fish or fish, or cheese, etc. Whatever be the garnish it is always best to put plenty of butter on the pieces of toast while they are still hot, with the view of keeping them soft. When the garnish consists of a puree, i. e., a compound butter, I advise the use of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, for laying the preparation upon the toast. The shapes given to the toast may be as fancy dictates. They should never exceed one and one-half inches in diameter. Caviare Toast. Make the pieces of toast round; cover with caviare butter, garnish the edges with a thread of softened butter laid on by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe. Put fresh caviare in the center. Shrimp Toast. Make the pieces of toast round or square, cover with shrimp butter, and garnish by means of a border composed of shelled shrimps' tails with a caper or gherkin in the center. Christiana Toast.