_Dinner-Time._--On account of the various occupations of members of the
same family, this is often the first and only time of the day that sees
them all assembled. It is the dinner that mostly supplies the waste that
the system has undergone for twenty-four hours. Being taken after the
day's work is over, it gives to the stomach time to digest (mind and
stomach never working at the same time). (_See_ Food, Economy, Coffee,
and Tea.)
The dinner, being the most substantial meal of the day, requires more
preparation than any other meal; the bill of fare of it should,
therefore, be made the day before, or at least early in the morning. It
should always be made between the mistress or master of the house and
the cook; written and hung in the kitchen, near the clock. The first
thing to put down is what may be left from the preceding day, and also
what may be in the larder; then what is wanted in butcher's meat or
poultry, or both; the fish or game, or both, and which, with vegetables,
are according to the market. It is then one of the duties of the cook to
make a list of what is wanted as accessories; such as flour, eggs,
sugar, spices, etc.
Besides the above, it is also the duty of the cook to send the dishes to
the table in their regular order; for, if the whole dinner is sent at
once, all the dishes have to be eaten at once also, else the last get
cold and are unpalatable, or, by mixing them, they are rendered
tasteless, as the flavor of one neutralizes (if it does not destroy) the
taste of another.
To make models of bills of fare is not difficult, but to follow them is
nearly impossible; hardly one in a hundred would suit any one.
Bills of fare vary according to the season of the year, and therefore to
the produce in the market.
We will try to give another, and we think a better way of making them to
suit everybody, every purse, and at any time.
A dinner, no matter how grand, is composed of three courses, and seven
kinds of dishes.
The first course comprises dishes of four kinds, viz.: potages,
_hors-d'oeuvres_, _releves_, _and entrees_.
The second course comprises dishes of two kinds, viz.: _rots_ and
_entremets_.
The third course comprises dishes of one kind, the dessert.
The number of dishes of each kind is generally according to the number
of guests.
It may also be according to the importance of the occasion for which the
dinner is given; to the honor the giver or givers wish to show the
personage or personages invited; to the amount of money they are willing
to spend, etc.
The following table shows how many dishes of each kind are to be served
at dinner to a certain number of persons:
-----+-+-+-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+----------------------------------------
For..|2|4|6|10|16|20|30|40|50|60|80|100| Persons.
Serve|1|1|1| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 6| 8| 8| Potages.
" |2|2|2| 4| 4| 6| 6|10|10|12|12| 16| Hors-d'oeuvres.
" |1|1|1| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 6| 8| 8| Releves of fish.
" |1|1|1| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 6| 8| 8| " of meat.
" |2|2|2| 4| 4| 4| 8| 8| 8|12|16| 16| Entrees.
" |1|1|1| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 6| 8| 8| Rots.
" |1|1|1| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 6| 8| 8| Salads of greens.
" |2|2|2| 4| 4| 4| 8| 8| 8|12|16| 16| Entremets.
" | | | | | | 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 6| 8| Large side pieces of Releves & Entrees.
" | | | | | | | | 2| 2| 4| 4| 6| " cakes.
" |4|4|4| 8| 8| 8|16|16|16|24|32| 36| Plates of Dessert.
-----+-+-+-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+----------------------------------------
The above table shows the number of dishes, but more than one dish of
the same kind can be served; for instance, four kinds of potages,
_releves_, etc., are served for forty; but two or four dishes of each
kind can be served.
The size of the _releves_ and _rots_ should be according to the number
of guests.
It is just as easy to select dishes for a small family-dinner as for a
grand one; two, three, four, or more dishes can be selected; for
instance, you select a potage, an _entree_ or _rot_, or both, one
vegetable or a sweet dish, or both; and one or as many plates of dessert
as you please.
Have a bouquet on the middle of the table, if possible, or at least a
basket of fruit. Flowers during dinner have the same effect as music
after it; they soften the manners, and gently and sweetly gratify the
senses.
To simplify and render the making of bills of fare easy, we have divided
the different dishes into seven parts, each part being in the order the
dishes of which must be served, and representing the seven kinds of
dishes composing a dinner. By this means you select the dish or dishes
which suit you, and which you can procure in any or all of the seven
parts, and your bill of fare is made, and more to your liking than any
steward on earth can do.
_Order of dishes._--1. _Potages_. 2. _hors-d'oeuvres_. 3. _Releves_: of
fish, and then of meat. 4. _Entrees_: beef, mutton, lamb, veal, fish,
poultry, and game last. 5. _Rots_: of meat, and then of fish. 6.
_Entremets_: salads of greens, vegetables, eggs, macaroni, sweet dishes,
and cakes. 7. _Dessert_: cheese the first.
_First part_, or _Potages_.--Any kind coming under the head of potages
or soups.
_Second part_, or _hors-d'oeuvres_.--These are small dishes placed on
the table as soon as the soup-dish is removed or even before, and which
are removed just before serving the sweet dishes of the _entremets_.
They are passed round after every dish, on account of being considered
more as appetizers, as repairers of the natural waste of animal life.
Very little of them is partaken of at a time; they are _anchovies_;
_artichockes_, raw; pickled _beets_; _butter_; _caviare_; _cervelas_;
raw _cucumbers_; _figs_; every kind of _fish_, salted, smoked, pickled,
or preserved in oil; every kind of _pickled fruit_; _horse-radish_;
_horse-radish butter_; _melons_; broiled _mushrooms_; _olives_; raw and
pickled _oysters_; steamed _potatoes_ served with butter; _radishes_ and
butter; _sardines_; _saucissons_; _sausages_, salt and smoked, but not
fresh; salted and smoked _tongue_; _tunny_, _walnuts_ in salad.
_Third part_, or _Releves_.--_Releves_ are composed of fish and large
pieces of meat. A fish served whole is always a _releve_; in pieces, it
is an _entree_. Pieces of _beef_, _mutton_, and _pork_, roasted, are
always served as _releves_. At a family dinner the _releve_ is almost
always a fish. The other pieces of meat that are served as _releves_
are: _bear_, _buffalo_, boiled and corned _beef_, _leg_ and _saddle_ of
mutton, _quarters_ of lamb, large pieces of _veal_; also all
_vol-au-vent_ of meat and of fish, _bouchees_ and _fish-pies_.
_Fourth part_, or _Entrees_.--These comprise every dish of meat, except
poultry and game, when roasted; every dish of _fish_ not served whole;
also _pates de foies gras_, _sour-krout_, _snails_, _meat-pies_,
_terrines_, _pains_ of game and of poultry. The dishes of _meat_
mentioned in the _releves_ may be served as entrees at a family dinner.
The order of the dishes is described above.
_Fifth part_, or _Rots_.--_Poultry_, _game_, and _fish_. At a family
dinner, _lamb_ and _veal_ are often served as roasted pieces, especially
at seasons when there is no game, and poultry is scarce.
_Sixth part_, or _Entremets_.--The following are served as _entremets_:
all _salads_ of greens; all dishes of _vegetables_, of _omelets_, except
four, viz., with bacon, salt pork, ham, and kidneys. Also dishes of
_macaroni_, of _rice_, _eggs a la neige_, all _sweet dishes_ (sweet
dishes are also served as _dessert_), and _cakes_; such as _baba_,
_brioche_, _genoises_, _madeleines_, _savarin_, and sponge-cake.
_Seventh part_, or _Dessert_.--The dessert comprises ripe _fruit_,
_sweet dishes_ (these are also served as _entremets_, according to
taste), _pastry_ (except meat-pies, _terrines_, and _pains_), _salads_
of fruits, and cheese. The latter is always served the first (_see_
Cheese). After cheese, there is no rule for serving the other plates of
dessert; it is according to each one's taste.
_Punch_ is served after the _entrees_ or after the _releves_ of fish,
according to taste.
_Early Breakfast_.--We are of opinion that everybody ought to eat as
little meat as possible, and drink no wine, beer, or any other liquor at
an early breakfast, no matter what the sex or age may be, except when
prescribed by the physician in case of sickness, debility, etc. The food
may be selected from the following: _bread_ and _butter_, _eggs_,
_omelets_, fried _fish_, fried _vegetables_, _sardines_, and _fruit_,
according to the season.
As for meat, in case it should be eaten, it ought to be cold, such as
fowl or veal, cooked the day before.
Muffins, and other cakes or pastes, served warm, are very bad for the
stomach and teeth.
The beverage ought to be either coffee, with milk, chocolate, cocoa,
choca, or cold water, but do not by any means drink tea at breakfast; it
is too astringent.
Although cold meat is not by far so injurious as warm meat for
breakfast, it ought, nevertheless, to be as little partaken of as
possible, and especially by the young.
_Late Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, and early Supper_.--At these meals the
following dishes may be served:
Every dish served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, _calf's_ head and feet, bear
_hams_, _head-cheese_, _eggs_ cooked in any way, _omelets_, _mutton_
chops, _veal_ cutlets, fried _fish_, ripe _fruit_, boned _birds_, _ham_,
cold _meat_ of any kind, _oysters_, _pate de foies gras_, _salads_ of
chicken, or any other birds, and of lobster, _sandwiches_, _sardines_,
fried _vegetables_, _sweet dishes_, and _pastry_.
_Late Supper_.--This being the last meal taken before retiring, persons
should be careful about what they eat then, especially those who take no
bodily exercise, or retire soon after it. Some are not aware that their
rest depends nearly, if not entirely, on what they have eaten at supper.
The lighter the food the better; such as fried _fish_, _sardines_, _lait
de poule_, _bavaroise_, well-ripened _fruit_, a _cream_, a little _iced
fruit_, _fruit-jelly_, _prunes_, etc.
The gastronomical or hygienic rule to be observed in eating, it will be
seen, is therefore, after the soup and _hors-d'oeuvres_, to commence
with the heaviest or most substantial dishes, and to finish with the
lightest. The rule is just the opposite for wines. Here we must commence
with the lightest, and end with those which contain the most alcohol,
and are consequently the heaviest.