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Canapes Lorenzo

Cut six slices of bread the width of an American loaf and one-quarter of an inch in thickness, neatly pare off the crust and fry in a sautoire, together with half an ounce of fresh butter, so as to make them a light brown color; then boil eighteen hard-shell crabs in salted water for about twelve minutes, after which remove and allow them to become cool, when the upper shell should be removed, and with the aid of a pointed knife pick out all of the meat, cracking the claws and removing all the meat from there also; place it all on a plate, season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a saltspoonful of red pepper; then place one ounce of butter in a saucepan, with a peeled and very finely chopped onion, and cook them together for about two minutes over a moderate fire; add two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir again for two minutes, and add one gill of broth, and stir while slowly cooking for five minutes, now add the crab meat, and cook for quarter of an hour, stirring once in a while with a wooden spoon, then remove into another vessel and let it cool for fifteen minutes. Put in a sautoire a tablespoonful of good butter over a stove, and mix in with one tablespoonful of flour, and cook for three minutes gently; add a couple of ounces of grated Parmesan cheese and an equal quantity of Swiss cheese, stirring well together; place it in a vessel to cool. Put a layer of crab meat on each slice of toast a quarter of an inch thick, and divide the prepared cheese in six equal portions, forming them into ball shapes about two inches in diameter, and arrange them over the layer of crab meat in the center, place them on a dish and bake in a brisk oven for about five minutes, then take them out and serve them in the same dish in which they have been cooked.