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HOW TO PREPARE AND SERVE A MEAL
AND
INTERIOR DECORATION
By
LILLIAN B. LANSDOWN
CONTENTS
HOW TO PREPARE AND SERVE A MEAL
CHAPTER
I. BEFORE THE MEAL IS SERVED
II. ENTER THE WAITRESS
III. BREAKFAST
IV. LUNCHEONS
V. THE INFORMAL (HOME) DINNER
VI. THE FORMAL DINNER
VII. AFTERNOON TEAS
VIII. SUPPERS
IX. OUTSIDE THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT
X. CARVING HINTS
XI. PLANNING A MENU
XII. MENUS FOR A THANKSGIVING, A CHRISTMAS AND A LENTEN DINNER
INTERIOR DECORATION
I. LINES AND CURVES
II. FORM, COLOR AND PROPORTION
III. INDIVIDUAL ROOMS OF THE HOUSE
IV. LIVING-ROOM, DRAWING-ROOM AND LIBRARY
V. BED ROOM, NURSERY AND PLAY ROOM
VI. SOME HINTS ANENT PERIOD FURNITURE
CHAPTER I
BEFORE THE MEAL IS SERVED
Before the meal which is to be served comes from the kitchen by way of
the butler's pantry to the dining room, there are many things to be
considered. The preparation of the meal (not the process of its
cooking, but its _planning_ as a composite whole) and all the
various details which precede the actual sitting down at the table of
those who expect to enjoy it, must be seen to. The preparation of the
meal, its _menu_, will be dealt with later, in connection with the
meal itself. For the present we will concentrate on its preparatory
aspects.
IN THE BUTLER'S PANTRY
The butler's pantry is the connecting link between kitchen and dining
room. It is at the same time an arsenal and a reserve line, equipped
with requisites to meet all emergencies. The perfect butler's pantry
should contain everything, from vegetable brushes for cleaning celery
to a galvanized refuse can. In between come matches, bread boards,
soap, ammonia and washing soda, a dish drainer, every kind of towel,
cheesecloth and holder, strainers (for tea, coffee and punch), ice
water, punch and soup pitchers of enamel ware, the tools and seasonings
for salad making, cut-glass brushes, and knives of different sizes.
In the butler's pantry the soiled linen should be kept, if possible in
a hamper, if not, in a bag. There should also be a towel rack, an
electric or hot-water heater for keeping food hot and--we are speaking
of the ideal pantry, of course--a small icebox where table butter,
cream and salad dressing may be kept, and plates chilled for serving
cold dishes. Adding a linen closet with shelves, a chest of drawers
(for tablecloths, napkins, doilies, centerpieces, etc.) and the
necessary shelves for china and glass (hang your cups and save space!),
and we may leave the butler's pantry and enter the dining room.
BEFORE ANYTHING EDIBLE COMES TO THE TABLE
We will not waste time on directions regarding the laying of the
tablecloth. Only remember that it must form a true line through the
center of the table (your "silence cloth" had best be of table padding,
a doubled cotton flannel or asbestos) and not hang below the table less
than nine inches. The usual arrangement of the centerpiece in the
center of the table (the table itself being immediately under the
light, unless the waitress is thereby prevented from moving between the
table and sideboard) with its dish of fruit or ferns or flowers (never
so high as to cut off view or conversation) can be varied to suit
individual taste. But the covers (the plates, glasses, napkin and
silver of each individual) must always be in line, opposite each other
on the opposite sides of the table. The plate doilies indicate the
covers when a bare table is laid. The service plate which each person
receives stays where put unless it is replaced by a hot plate.
NAPKINS, SILVER, CHINA AND GLASS
Napkins (fold flat and square) lie at the left of the forks. The hem of
the napkin, turned up, should parallel the forks and the table edge.
When dinner is served without a maid, everything yields to avoiding
leaving the table. In that case put on the dessert silver (which
otherwise should not be done) with the other dinner silver. Place all
silver in its order of use, and remember that three forks are enough.
If more are needed let them appear with the courses which demand them.
The quietest and therefore most desirable way of putting the dessert
silver on the table, is to serve it from a napkin, from the right.
Knives should have their cutting edge toward the plate, at its right,
and lie half an inch from the table edge. Spoons, bowls facing upward,
lie at the right of the knife; forks at the left of the plate. When
shell food is served (clams, oysters or mussels) the fork is placed at
the right of the plate. The upper right-hand side of the bread and
butter plate is the place for the butter spreader.
In general do not arrange your cover too loosely, and see to it that
the glass, china and silver for each cover sets close without the
pieces touching. Glasses are placed just above the knives, a little to
the right. Neither cups nor glasses should ever be filled to the brim.
The bread and butter plate (bread and butter are, as a rule, _not_
served with _formal_ dinners) somewhat to the left, beyond the
service plate. Between each two covers, or just in front of each, place
your pepper and salt sets. The salt spoon lies across the open
saltcellar.
When the table is set for some impromptu meal at which a knife will not
be used, the fork takes the place of the knife at the right-hand side,
and the teaspoon is laid beside the fork.
DESIRABLE IMPROVEMENTS
No one wants to see the inner economy of the butler's pantry, nor
should the perhaps fragrant but cloying odors of the kitchen be wafted
into the dining room whenever the swingdoor of the pantry opens or
closes. The screen obviates both disadvantages. Another improvement has
been the introduction of the serving table in place of the sideboard.
It now conveniently holds all the extras needed for the meal.