More from Grand Union Tea Company

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

A few of you emailed me about "forcemeat" from my post last week. In the cookbook they had it as "forceMENT", which is what confused me. It may have been a typo in the cookbook though. Several readers kindly sent me a definition. This one is from Jennie:

The Beef Olives recipe is *really* old, I think -- a survival of one that's much older than 1902. Try forceMEAT - hard to say if the usage had changed or if it was misspelled at the time:

force⋅meat [fawrs-meet, fohrs-] –noun Cookery.
a mixture of finely chopped and seasoned foods, usually containing egg
white, meat or fish, etc., used as a stuffing or served alone.
Also, farcemeat. Origin: 1680–90; force, var. of obs. farce stuffing + meat

Thanks for your interesting posts! ~Jennie in Ohio

Since so many of you enjoyed the recipe and tips from the 1902 The Grand Union Tea Company cookbook, I thought I would share a few more that can be used as holiday appetizers.

Baked Oysters
For baked oysters choose fine, large ones, and lay two or three together on a nice round of buttered toast. Put a little pepper and salt and a few bits of butter on them, and heat in a very hot oven till the edges of the oysters curl a little.

Anchovy Sandwiches
The easiest way to make anchovy sandwiches is to use anchovy paste, which is sold in all large cities. For anchovies, caviare or pate de foie gras use brown bread, buttered. The only seasoning is cayenne. Care must be taken to spread such paste very thinly. Watercress with fine leaves should be stripped from the stems and laid on one half the sandwich, while the other is spread with anchovy, then put the two together.

Notes: Anchovy paste is very easy to find now. Ask if you don't see it in your grocery store. Caviare is the same as caviar. Pate de foie gras is made from the livers of geese or duck that have been specially fattened. If you can't find watercress in your local store, try substituting spinach or another green like arugula.

Salmon Sandwiches
One can of salmon (remove all bones), two tablespoonfuls crisp pickles, three hard boiled eggs; chop all together and add one teaspoonful mustard, juice of one lemon, one tablespoonful melted butter and one tablespoonful vinegar. Mix thoroughly and spread between very thin slices of bread.

Deviled Ham
Mince ham very fine and season highly with pepper. Add a little curry powder and a little chopped garlic. (Note: use this on crackers or small pieces of bread.)

~Brenda