Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1229

Rh The term Sandwich was originally applied to slices of meat placed between bread and butter, but it has now a much wider meaning, for it is used to describe an endless number of pounded and shredded preparations, the varieties being multiplied by the addition of savoury butters, sauces, and condiments unknown in the eighteenth century when sandwiches were first introduced. The old comparatively substantial form still accompanies the sportsman and traveller, but those intended for "afternoon tea" are dainty trifles, pleasing the eye and palate, but too flimsy to allay hunger where it exists.

To have sandwiches in perfection the bread should not be more than one day old, and sandwich loaves should be provided when a large number have to be prepared, or large French rolls, when rolled sandwiches are preferred. Creamed butter, No. 2465, is more easily spread than ordinary butter, but when the latter is used it should first be beaten to a cream. Savoury anchovy, lobster, prawn, and shrimp butters may be usefully employed to give piquancy and variety to other substances; they are also used alone in the preparation of rolled sandwiches, which consist of single slices of bread and butter, spread with some prepared substance, and then lightly rolled.

Sandwiches for afternoon tea or any occasion where they will come in contact with gloved fingers, should be left perfectly plain on the outside, but when they may be eaten with a fork, some pretty effects may be produced by decorating them with variously-coloured chaud-froid sauces. Or they may be decorated with cold aspic jelly, and garnished with lobster coral, Krona pepper, parsley, hard-boiled egg, etc.

Ingredients.—1 white cabbage very finely shredded, 2 ozs. of butter, 1 gill of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of salt, pepper to taste, ¼ of a pint of sour cream.

Method.—Bring the butter, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper just to boiling point, pour it over the cabbage, and, when quite cold, stir in the cream, and serve. Or, moisten the cabbage with salad dressing, and serve directly.

Substitute anchovies for sardines.