Being the grand solid meal of the day, is a matter of considerable
importance; and a well-served table is a striking index of human
ingenuity and resource.
The elegance with which a dinner is served depends, of course, partly
upon the means, but still more upon the taste of the master and
mistress of the house. It may be observed, in general, that there
should always be flowers on the table, and, as they form no item of
expense where a garden is, there is no reason why they should not be
employed every day.
The variety of the dishes which furnish forth a modern dinner-table,
does not necessarily imply anything unwholesome, or anything
capricious. Food that is not well relished cannot be well digested; and
the appetite of the over-worked man of business, or statesman, or of
any dweller in towns, whose occupations are exciting and exhausting, is
jaded, and requires stimulation. Men and women who are in rude health,
and who have plenty of air and exercise, eat the simplest food with
relish, and commonly digest it well; but those conditions are out of
the reach of many men. They must suit their mode of dining to their
mode of living, if they cannot choose the latter. It is in serving
up food that is at once appetizing and wholesome that the skill of
the modern housewife is severely tasked; and she has scarcely a more
important duty to fulfil. It is, in fact, her particular vocation, in
virtue of which she may be said to hold the health of the family, and
of the friends of the family, in her hands from day to day.
The following aphorisms and short directions in relation to
dinner-parties, are well deserving of notice:—“Let the number of your
guests never exceed twelve, so that the conversation may be general.
Let the temperature of the dining-room be about 68°. Let the dishes be
few in number in the first course, but proportionally good. The order
of food is from the most substantial to the lightest. The order of
drinking wine is from the mildest to the most foamy and most perfumed.
To invite a person to your house is to take charge of his happiness
so long as he is beneath your roof. The mistress of the house should
always be certain that the coffee is excellent; whilst the master
should be answerable for the quality of his wines and liqueurs.”
_Dinners à la Russe_ differ from ordinary dinners in the mode of
serving the various dishes. In a dinner à la Russe, the dishes are cut
up on a sideboard, and handed round to the guests, and each dish may be
considered a course. The table for a dinner à la Russe should be laid
with flowers and plants in fancy flower-pots down the middle, together
with some of the dessert dishes. A _menu_ or bill of fare should be
placed by the side of each guest.
The following are bills of fare for dinners à la Russe, and eatable
from July to November: the dishes can easily be varied to suit other
months.
SERVICE A LA RUSSE (July).
Julienne Soup, Vermicelli Soup.
Boiled Salmon, Turbot and Lobster Sauce. Soles-Water Souchy,
Perch-Water Souchy. Matelote d’Anguilles à la Toulouse, Filets de Soles
à la Normandie. Rod Mullet, Trout. Lobster Rissoles, Whitebait.
Riz de Veau à la Banquière, Filets de Poulets aux Concombres. Canards
à la Rouennaise, Mutton Cutlets à la Jardinière. Braised Beef à la
Flamande, Spring Chickens, Roast Quarter of Lamb, Roast Saddle of
Mutton, Tongue, Ham and Peas.
Quails, larded, Roast Ducks, Turkey Poult, larded. Mayonnaise of
Chicken, Tomatoes, Green Peas à la Française. Suédoise of Strawberries,
Charlotte Russe, Compôte of Cherries. Neapolitan Cakes, Pastry, Madeira
Wine Jelly. Iced Pudding à la Nesselrode.
Dessert and Ices.
SERVICE A LA RUSSE (November).
Ox-tail Soup, Soup à la Jardinière.
Turbot and Lobster Sauce, Crimped Cod and Oyster Sauce. Stewed Eels,
Soles à la Normandie. Pike and Cream Sauce. Fried Fileted Soles.
Filets de Bœuf à la Jardinière, Croquettes of Game aux Champignons.
Chicken Cutlets, Mutton Cutlets and Tomato Sauce. Lobster Rissoles,
Oyster Patties. Partridges aux fines Herbes, Larded Sweetbreads. Roast
Beef, Poulets aux Cressons, Haunch of Mutton, Roast Turkey, Boiled
Turkey and Celery Sauce, Ham.
Grouse, Pheasants, Hare. Salad, Artichokes, Stewed Celery. Italian
Cream, Charlotte aux Pommes, Compôte of Pears. Croûtes madrées aux
Fruits, Pastry, Punch Jelly. Iced Pudding.
Dessert and Ices.