Sandwiches
1. Two thin slices of buttered bread and a slice of cold roast turkey, peppered and salted, laid between. Cut the slices in square form, then across to make triangular sandwiches. Pile on a folded napkin. 2. Melt a cupful of butter in a saucepan. Mince an equal quantity of cold boiled ham and add it to the butter. Put in for seasoning a tablespoonful of made mustard, pepper and a chopped pickle. Spread one slice of bread with this mixture, another with plain butter and lay a very thin slice of cold roast veal between. 3. Spread slices of cold ham with a little mustard and lay between two slices of buttered bread.
French rolls made flat for the purpose and shortened with butter, also well made flaky biscuits are preferable to sliced bread for sandwiches for bill suppers and outdoor parties, as they do not become dry so quickly. Sandwiches and sandwich rolls are also spread with liver paste and thin shaved chicken or tongue, and with anchovies and caviar.
Three sandwich formulas plus a page of serving notes, written for a caterer working with whatever cold roast meat was left from dinner. Only the second one needs real attention.
- The ham butter is a spread, not a sauceNumber 2 melts a cup of butter and stirs in a cup of minced ham. Poured warm it will soak the bread; let it cool to the texture of soft butter, or beat softened butter and ham together cold in a food processor and skip the melting entirely.
- "Made mustard"Prepared mustard from a jar, as opposed to dry mustard powder. A sharp Dijon or an English mustard both suit ham; a tablespoon to two cups of spread is assertive, which is the intent.
- "Chopped pickle"Most likely a cucumber pickle, sharp sour or sweet, though period books also used mixed pickles. Drain and chop it fine, or the moisture will separate out of the butter.
- CuttingSquare first, then across, gives two triangles per pair of slices. Use a long thin knife, wiped between cuts.
- "French rolls made flat for the purpose"Rolls deliberately shaped flat for sandwiches and enriched with butter in the dough ("shortened with butter"). A soft dinner roll or split brioche bun serves the same purpose: more fat in the crumb means slower staling.
- "Bill suppers"Almost certainly ball suppers, the late-night spread served at a dance. It explains the emphasis throughout on sandwiches that survive an hour or two on a table.
- Liver paste and tongueLiver paste is what a modern shop sells as liverwurst or a coarse pâté. Cooked, sliced beef tongue is still available from butchers and Latin and Jewish markets; ask for it ready-boiled and pressed.
- Keeping themA slightly damp cloth or a sheet of parchment under plastic wrap keeps assembled sandwiches from drying for two or three hours in the refrigerator; add anchovy or caviar only just before serving, as both weep salt into bread.
- YieldA cup each of butter and minced ham makes enough spread for roughly two dozen sandwich halves, far more than the single sandwich the wording implies. Cut the quantity down or plan on a crowd.
The American Pastry Cook belongs to the trade literature of the late nineteenth century, written for hotel and restaurant men rather than housewives, which is why these instructions read as much like a costing note as a recipe: cold roast turkey, cold boiled ham, cold roast veal, all of them yesterday's roasts converted into something salable. Sandwiches of this sort suited ball suppers, railway buffets and picnic catering, where food had to be eaten standing up and without a knife. The closing paragraph is the most revealing part of the page: a professional's observation that a buttered, enriched roll stales more slowly than a plain sliced loaf, which is the same reason commercial sandwich breads today carry more fat and sugar than a lean hearth loaf. Anchovy and caviar at the end reflect a period when tinned and salted fish were readily to hand for a supper table.