Scotch woodcock

Scotch woodcock is a savory dish consisting of creamy, softly scrambled eggs served over toast that has been spread with anchovy paste or Gentleman's Relish. It is similar to Welsh rarebit, which combines toast and cheese. It was served in the refreshment rooms of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as late as 1949. [cite journal |last=Wilcox |first=J.H. |year=1949 |title=The kitchen and refreshment rooms of the house of commons |journal=Journal of Parliamentary affairs |volume= III|issue=2 |pages=316-320] It was also served historically at the colleges of the University of Oxford. [cite book |last=Aylmer |first=Ursula |coauthor=Carolyn McCrum |year=2005 |title=Oxford Food: An Anthology |publisher=Ashmolean Museum |page=26 |isbn=1854440586 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qBjLU0KrL6wC&oi=fnd&pg=PP16&dq=%22scotch+woodcock%22&ots=KvLAJVnmhQ&sig=JKo1x-lwr6dD8v6er4Xmnzn9wbU#PPP13,M1]

That the name does not seem at first sight to show that the dish is eggs on toast, [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C11FE3F5A11708DDDA80894D9415B848AF1D3] New York Times, 1974] but instead seems to imply a woodcock, like Welsh rarebit has been thought to reflect English assumptions that those in the provinces had a meagre diet. [cite journal |last=Aronson |first=Jeff |year=2000 |month=April |title=When I use a word... Cheque your spelling |journal=British Medical Journal
volume= 320|issue=7420 |pages=990] The dish needs to be described when foods are to be subjected to classification, as its nature is not obvious from the name. [http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/af282e/AF282E05.htm]

It was a well known dish in the Victorian era, and is mentioned in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management [cite book |last=Beeton |fist=Isabella|title=Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0192833456 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wsehDNHAX9EC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22scotch+woodcock%22&ots=TgcAzw6G1O&sig=ZL802tdz6mDTeNhj-cqKaaNZsmQ#PPA1,M1] It is sometimes eaten as a savoury at the end of a meal, as happens with cheese and biscuits. Savoury dishes such as scotch woodcock are said to appeal particularly to men. [ [http://www.newstatesman.com/200105280041] New Statesman]

It is also known in America, seen as an inexpensive meal as an alternative to the expense of meat. [ [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g40KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=w0wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6609,1979900&dq=scotch-woodcock] The Courier, 1983]

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