What To Eat, How To Serve It - free ebook by Christine Terhune Herrick

What to Eat How to Serve it

BY CHRISTINE TERHUNE HERRICK AUTHOR OF "HOUSEKEEPING MADE EASY" "CRADLE AND NURSERY" ETC. NEW YORK HARPER &amp; BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 1891 Copyright, 1891, by Harper &amp; Brothers . All rights reserved. What to Eat How to Serve it...

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THE DINING-ROOM

THE apartment in which the members of a family assemble three times a day for meals must be pleasant. There is a chance to escape from any other part of the house. The business man rarely sees his drawing-room until after the shades are drawn and the lamps lighted. The wife and mother divides her time between nursery, sewing-room, and kitchen, while school-children are out of the house nearly as much as they are in it—at least during their waking hours. But no matter how widely the little flock

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AT THE BREAKFAST-TABLE

EVERYTHING in reason should be done to make the breakfast a tolerably pleasant meal. Very cheerful or jovial it seldom is. The father is in a hurry to get to his office or business, and usually buries himself in the morning paper; the children are burdened with the thought of approaching school duties; the mother is silently mapping out the line of her day's operations, and is disinclined to conversation. Add to this that all are apt to be more or less dominated by the physical depression of ton

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MORE ABOUT BREAKFAST

IN the majority of the homes where fruit is served for breakfast it appears as a first course. Countless are the headaches to which this custom has given rise among those whose stomachs resent the introduction of the acid as the earliest nourishment of the day. The choice should always be given each eater between beginning with fruit or reserving it as a final course. When it is served last it acts as a pleasant neutralizer of the solid or possibly greasy food that has been already consumed, and

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THE INVALID'S BREAKFAST

FOR the invalid there is often no possibility of the slight stimulus to appetite produced by the change of air from one room to another. Breakfast, the hardest meal of the day to many well people, is doubly difficult to one who must eat it in the same room where she has spent the night—perhaps many nights—of feverish restlessness, that has given her a detestation of the bed, the bedroom, and everything connected therewith, chiefest of all being the disgust with herself, the weary, distraught bei

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A BREAKFAST-PARTY

LARGE breakfasts, or déjeûners à la fourchette , are not a very common form of entertainment in this country, and yet they may be made charming. Unlike luncheons, where there are usually only women present, both men and women may be invited to a breakfast. The hour is usually twelve, although it may be a little earlier or later. One o'clock is the latest hour which it is advisable to set for a breakfast. The number of guests invited is optional, but a small party, consisting of from six to twelv

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FAMILY BREAKFASTS FOR SPRING

WHILE the principal features of the home breakfast remain essentially the same throughout the year, variety is gained by adapting the different articles of food to the season of the year in which they are served. A lighter, less carbon-producing diet is not only more agreeable, but more healthful, in warm weather than one containing much animal food, while the latter is preferable and almost necessary in winter. To this consideration is added the eminent propriety of making one's bills of fare s

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FAMILY BREAKFASTS FOR SUMMER

AS the season advances and the warm weather becomes settled, the preference should be given to fish and egg dishes rather than to those containing meat. For a sultry morning a breakfast of which fruit makes an important part is welcome generally to both palate and digestion. The many kinds of delicious fresh fish that may easily be procured should hold a prominent place in summer bills of fare; while eggs, usually plentiful and cheap at this season, may be prepared in various tempting fashions.

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FAMILY BREAKFASTS FOR AUTUMN

DURING the early part of the autumn, and indeed until late in the winter, the supply of fruit is only less abundant than in the summer. Melons and peaches go first, but their place is taken by grapes, pears, apples, bananas, and, later, mandarins, tangerines, and oranges. Meat now begins to be a more necessary article in the bill of fare. By the exercise of a little ingenuity, left-overs from the dinner of the previous day may be rendered even more appetizing than they were in their first estate

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FAMILY BREAKFASTS FOR WINTER

A WORD may be said here anent the cooking of porridges. There are as many theories about this apparently simple affair as there are denominational differences in theological circles. One housekeeper soaks the oatmeal overnight; another puts it on when the fire is made; another fifteen minutes before breakfast. Mrs. A. soaks hers in cold water, Mrs. B. uses boiling, while Mrs. C. inclines to having the water just hot. One stirs the porridge frequently; another says it is ruined if touched with a

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AT LUNCHEON

PROPERLY treated, luncheon may be the pleasantest meal of the day. Simple or elaborate, as the housekeeper's taste may dictate, always informal, it is more comfortable than the breakfast because less hurried, more agreeable than the dinner because less ceremonious. The table at luncheon may either be set as for breakfast, with a pretty colored cloth to cover it; or a prettier way, if one has a table with a handsome top, is to spread on this a large luncheon napkin that only partially conceals th

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A SMALL LUNCHEON

LUNCHEONS are among the most popular forms of entertainment that can be selected, when only a limited number are to be honored. To these affairs men are seldom invited, and there are not wanting those among the sterner sex who do not hesitate to attribute their banishment to desire on the women's part for the opportunity to chat uninterruptedly and unreservedly on those subjects presumed dear to their hearts—dress, babies, and servants. Other men go so far as to hint that gossip, and even scanda

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A LARGE LUNCHEON.

A MUCH more ceremonious affair than that described in the preceding chapter is the large luncheon, where there are present anywhere from eight to twenty guests. The invitations for this are issued at least ten days, and often three weeks or more, previous to the date for which the guests are asked, and should be written, not verbal, except when given to an intimate friend. The recipient should reply at once. The hour set is usually one or half-past one, and the most punctilious promptness should

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A STANDING LUNCH.

FOR a long time there was a felt need for some form of entertainment that would be more general in its character than a dinner or a lunch, less of a full-dress affair than an evening party, and more elaborate than the ordinary kettle-drum or afternoon tea. This want was finally supplied by the introduction of the standing lunch, which is in reality little more than a regular reception, such as usually takes place in the evening, held in the afternoon. To this both ladies and gentlemen are invite

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THE LUNCH BASKET.

TO many people the lunch basket and its contents are quite as important as any regularly set-out meal of the day—more important than such occasional luxuries as ceremonious déjeûners à la fourchette and standing lunches. Among this number are not only the school-children who, five days out of the week, must carry what the Southern boys and girls would term a "snack" with them to school, but also the army of men and women whose employment takes them to such a distance from their homes that it is

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FAMILY LUNCHES FOR SPRING

THESE menus for simple home lunches, given as were those for breakfasts—ten for each season—are not designed to serve as exact guides, but merely as suggestions to the housekeeper. They may easily be improved upon or altered. To some they will doubtless appear much too simple, while others may condemn them as being too elaborate. Certain selected recipes will accompany them. 1. Baked Cheese Omelet. Toasted Crackers. Strawberry Jam. Cocoa. Baked Cheese Omelet. —Two eggs, two cups milk, one small

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FAMILY LUNCHES FOR SUMMER

IN hot weather a comfortable room is essential to the enjoyment of a meal. The salle à manger must be cleared of food, the soiled dishes removed, all crumbs brushed up, and the flies beaten out the moment breakfast is over, if the apartment is to be pleasant at noon. If blinds and doors are kept closed, the room may be deliciously cool and fresh by lunch-time. With such surroundings, good digestion is much more prone to wait on appetite than in a stuffy, fly-infested room, where neither heat nor

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FAMILY LUNCHES FOR AUTUMN

1. Sweetbread Pâtés. Raised Corn-meal Muffins. Fried Potatoes. Jelly Toast. Sweetbread Pâtés. —Scald and blanch a pair of sweetbreads; remove bits of skin and gristle; chop rather coarsely, and stir into a cupful of white sauce; season to taste. Have ready pastry shells made hot in the oven, and fill them with the sweetbreads. Send very hot to table. A few mushrooms chopped with the sweetbreads are a pleasant addition. Raised Corn-meal Muffins. —Two cups milk, two cups corn-meal, one tablespoonf

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FAMILY LUNCHES FOR WINTER

1. Curried Oysters. Rice Croquettes. Cold Slaw. Crackers and Cheese. Curried Oysters. —Heat to boiling the liquor from one quart of oysters; lay the oysters in it, and let them simmer just long enough to plump them. Take them out with a skimmer, put them where they will keep hot, and thicken the liquor by adding to it a tablespoonful of butter rubbed smooth with two of browned flour. Into this stir a teaspoonful of curry-powder wet up in a little cold water. Salt and pepper to taste, squeeze in

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DINNER AT NIGHT

TWENTY or thirty years ago the late dinner was not nearly so popular as it is now. The majority of the people dined in the middle of the day, and not a few of them considered a six-o'clock dinner as an effort after fashion that was unworthy the imitation of sensible men and women. Even in large cities servants rebelled against an alteration of the time-honored custom of serving the principal meal of the day at or near noon, while in small towns the late dinner was so unusual that it was almost i

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DINNER AT NOON

IN some homes it seems out of the question to have a late dinner. There may be several reasons for this. Possibly the mistress of the house does all her own work, and finds it easier to dispose of the bulk of her cooking in the morning than later, since she thus leaves free the afternoon hours for leisure or social duties. Or she may, if she keeps servants, live in a neighborhood where late dinners are so far the exception that she finds it impossible to induce her cook to accede to her desire t

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THE SUNDAY DINNER

THE "big dinner" of the week is, in most homes, eaten on Sunday. Then the men of the family are at home for the day, the children have no claims of school or play to hurry them through their meals, and there is a general impression of delightful leisure which seems favorable to the eating and digestion of an excellent and hearty dinner. This repast is usually served at midday, in order that the servants may have the afternoon and evening to themselves; and it is not uncommon for the mistress of

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THE SMALL DINNER-PARTY

THERE has been so much written about the giving of dinner-parties that the manager of a small household may well shrink in dismay from the labor that obedience to such rules would lay upon her. When she reads descriptions of tables spread with the most costly glass, silver, and china, of courses consisting of delicacies prepared from intricate directions, and served by three or four trained servants—her heart sinks with dismay, and she gives up then and there the attempt to entertain her friends

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A LARGE DINNER

THUS far the descriptions of breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners have been given from the standpoint of the housekeeper. The outline of this, a more ceremonious meal than any before described, will be from the point of view of the guest, who regards everything as a mere spectator, and not with the eyes of the hostess, who has studied every step of the repast from its inception to its completion. Two weeks before the dinner the guest receives his invitation, which may have been sent either by priv

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FAMILY DINNERS FOR SPRING

1. Lentil Soup. Fricasseed Chicken. Rice Croquettes. Buttered Sweet Potatoes. Peach Brown Betty. Lentil Soup. —One pint lentils, two quarts cold water, one onion, one tablespoonful flour, two teaspoonfuls butter, pepper and celery-salt to taste. Soak the lentils overnight in cold water; drain them the next morning, and put them over the fire with the two quarts of water and the onion; simmer for several hours until the lentils are very soft. If the water boils away too fast, replenish the amount

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FAMILY DINNERS FOR SUMMER

1. Green-Pea Soup. Roast Shoulder of Veal. Boiled Potatoes. Asparagus with Eggs. Cherry Dumplings. Green-Pea Soup. —One quart shelled pease cooked until tender, one quart milk, two tablespoonfuls butter, one teaspoonful sugar, one tablespoonful flour, salt to taste. Press the pease, after they have been boiled and drained, through a colander; put them back on the fire, and stir into them the milk, boiling hot, thickened with the butter and flour and seasoned with the sugar and salt. Boil up once

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FAMILY DINNERS FOR AUTUMN

1. Cauliflower Soup. Roast Beef. Baked Tomatoes and Corn. Boiled Sweet Potatoes. Fried Egg-Plant. Cocoanut Custards. Cauliflower Soup. —Cut a medium-sized cauliflower into small clusters, chop all except two bunches, and put all on the fire in four cups of boiling water with a minced onion and a couple of sprigs of parsley; cook until tender. Remove the unchopped bunches, and lay them aside, while you rub the chopped and boiled portion through a colander; return what comes through the sieve to t

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FAMILY DINNERS FOR WINTER

1. Turnip Purée. Roast Turkey. Fried Parsnips. Browned Onions. Mashed Potatoes. Orange Roly-Poly. Turnip Purée. —Eight turnips, one onion, one stalk celery, four cups water, two cups milk, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful flour, pepper and salt to taste. Peel and cut up the turnips, and put them over the fire with the onion in the four cups of water; let them cook until tender, and then rub them through the colander, and put them back on the fire. Cook the butter and flour together in

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WHAT SHALL WE EAT?

THE cook-book of the olden time gave its recipes with a generous disregard of cost. Such items as a ham boiled in wine were not unusual, and the quantities of costly materials demanded were on a Gargantuan scale. Even in the average French culinary manuals economy can hardly be said to be conspicuous, except by its absence, although Gallic cooks have a world-wide reputation for the wonderful results they can produce by a small expenditure. Even in this day, when economy is honored and studied, i

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THE CHILDREN'S TABLE

IN comparatively few American homes does the custom prevail of giving the children their meals apart from their parents. Domestic arrangements would be sadly complicated were it common in the ordinary household, as it is in England, to have a separate breakfast served for the little ones in their nursery while the seniors discuss their more elaborate morning repast in their own salle à manger . Usually, and wisely, American children eat at least two of their meals with their parents, and thus ha

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THE FAMILY TEA

A PLEASANT feature of domestic life which is done away with by the late dinner is the family tea. This meal, always an informal one, used to give play to the housekeeper's fancy in the concoction of dainty dishes with which to render the repast more appetizing to the tired and hungry master of the home. Now, to be sure, she has lunches upon which to expend her culinary ingenuity; but then the person for whom she best loves to cater, her husband, is rarely at home. In some families it is the cust

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AFTERNOON TEA

AMONG the many English customs which have been introduced into American society there is none that sooner attained a widespread popularity than afternoon tea—a simple and easy form of entertainment, that entailed little expense and less trouble upon the hostess, and supplied a long-felt want. Soon all over the land teas were the rage, and in large cities and small villages alike cards were flying about, bearing upon them the name of the hostess, and in one corner, "Tea at five o'clock" or "Tea f

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HIGH TEA

FOR a small company the high tea is an excellent form of entertainment. It is not suitable for a large assembly, but when a limited number of guests have been invited to spend the evening in some such recreation as card-playing, it is very pleasant to ask them first to high tea. Or if the latter part of the evening is to be devoted to dancing, a chosen few of the guests may be invited to tea first, and the remainder requested to come later. In that case no supper should be offered to the dancers

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SOME HINTS ABOUT SUPPER

IN these days of theatre and opera parties the matter of late suppers assumes more importance than it possessed in the time when these amusements were less universally popular. Upon the occasions when a young man escorted his "best girl" to the play or the concert, he took her afterwards, as a natural sequence, to a restaurant, where they partook of some such light refreshment as ice-cream, cake, and coffee, this style of supper being varied sometimes by the introduction of oysters in one form o

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CHINA AND GLASS

THAT housekeeper must be a noteworthy exception to the majority of the members of that honorable body whose heart does not yearn to possess a goodly store of china and glass. She may begin her married life with the resolve to content herself with very little, but she will find, in this form of acquisition as in nearly every other, that appetite comes with eating, and the more she has the more she wants. Curiously enough, she learns also that although she may get along very comfortably for a long

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LINEN AND SILVER

EVEN at the best, securing a provision of table linen is bound to be a heavy expense. Whatever economies the housekeeper may practise by purchasing Japanese or stout English porcelain, and pressed glass, she will never find that it pays to buy cheap damask. It does not look well even at the first, and it is worse after each washing. No matter how handsome may be the china, silver, and glass put upon it, a sleazy damask will give a cheap appearance to the whole table. On the other hand, really go

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