To give a luncheon is to indulge one's self in the most charming and
satisfying form of entertaining. All the dignity of the stately
dinner-party is lacking, it is true, but all the delight of informality
is present; one has opportunity and leisure to chat, to laugh, and to
discuss the dainty and unsubstantial dishes beloved of women. That
hostess is to be congratulated who can and does give her friends
luncheons all the year around; whatever day she chooses becomes at once
a gala day.
But after one has entertained, and entertained no matter how
delightfully to her friends and how satisfactorily to herself, there
comes a time when for the moment she can think of nothing she has not
had. All flowers seem ordinary, all food wearisome. It is for such a
day as this that this little book has been prepared. Not that new dishes
are offered in a long, fascinating series, for all startling novelties
or elaborate concoctions have been purposely eschewed: this is not a
cook-book; it makes no such ambitious claim; the possession of a good
cook-book, a supply of cooking utensils, a few canned goods and
flavouring extracts, and access to a market of ordinary capacities, have
all been taken for granted. But the ideas are intended to be practical,
the food given in season and within reasonable price, and the recipes,
whether given, as is sometimes the case, or merely alluded to as easily
to be found, are all sufficiently simple to be undertaken by a very
ordinary and inexperienced cook.
It is assumed that all hostesses are in possession of that priceless
commodity which our grandmothers called "faculty," that common-sense
which more than anything else helps one over domestic boulders; this
will suggest that if whitebait is not to be had, canned salmon is quite
within reach, and from that useful fish a toothsome dish may easily be
prepared. If pim-olas are an unheard-of relish, home-made pickles are by
no means to be despised. If ice-cream in rose forms is entirely out of
the question, raspberry ice made from one's own preserves or from the
fresh fruit in the garden is fully as delicious. To assist one who is
willing to take the second choice if she cannot have the first, a
substitute has been offered for any course which it is suspected may
prove difficult to procure in different parts of the country; an
intelligent hostess will easily be able to think of one that is even
better than the one named.
Rather elaborate menus are given that they may be adapted to one's need.
It is easier to shorten a menu than to lengthen one, and two or three
courses dropped from a company luncheon will transform it into one
suitable for home use with very little trouble. If one menu is not quite
what one wants, she can take another; if something more elaborate still
is desired than what is given already, she can take a course from some
luncheon farther on in the book; as much variety as possible has been
sought on purpose, that there may be opportunity for just this choice of
dishes.
The idea of observing holidays with luncheons is only a suggestion; any
one of the luncheons may, with slightly altered decorations, be given at
any time during the month. Doubtless every hostess can take the fancies
given and work them out to her more complete satisfaction; it is
intended that she should do so, for this is not meant to be a complete
compendium on luncheon given; it is only a "Little Book of Suggestions,"
nothing more. And now to something practical.
The principal factor in a successful luncheon is a pretty table; that
remains in one's memory after all the details of the luncheon proper
have been forgotten.
[Illustration: FOR LUNCHEON USE.]
[Illustration: ANOTHER STYLE OF DOILY.]
[Illustration: HONITON LACE DOILY.]
No cloth is used nowadays, but pretty doilies are laid on the bare
surface; where one has been so unfortunate as to have the appearance of
her table ruined by the defacing marks of hot dishes, she often refuses
to dispense with the table-cloth, yet if she knew what a very simple and
inexpensive thing it is to have a fresh polish put on, she would
doubtless send for the furniture dealer at once; even without the aid of
that individual she can improve matters by applying a purchased polish,
rubbing it in well with a flannel cloth; indeed, rubbing is the secret
of a handsome table top. Then, too, she probably does not consider that
when her doilies are in place, very little of the wood is exposed to the
critical eye, while in that little is reflected the flowers and lights
which give a double brilliance to the decorations. But if one is
incorrigible and insists on a cloth in spite of all persuasions, then
the next-best thing is to have a pretty one, one with openwork or lace,
or at least with a handsome fringe, which will give some effect of
elaboration. But doilies are so pretty, so much prettier than any cloth,
no matter how beautiful; they come in all sizes and at all prices, from
the exquisite Honiton lace ones, which are almost too delicate to use,
on to the combined linen and lace which are not expensive; from the
cobwebs of drawn work from Mexico, which look as though they would fall
to pieces if handled and which really wear a lifetime, to the plain
squares of hemstitched linen, which are pretty enough for any table and
can be made at home by the skilful needlewoman. One who can make even
simple fancy work to-day can keep herself in lovely things for the
luncheon table with small cost except in time. The same thing is to be
said of the centrepiece: one can have anything almost, but it should be
all in white. There are times when one wishes an embroidered square or
circle, but ordinarily white lace is the best choice, for the effect of
the flowers is always better if no colour is mingled with their own. As
to the flowers themselves, they should not be over-elaborate. Of course
a woman of unlimited means may expend a vast sum on a basket of orchids
or some other fashionable flowers for her table, but while it is
desirable to have a pretty effect, all undue gorgeousness is out of
harmony with the presumably informal meal. A woman who plans her table
decorations herself will probably evolve something more original and
more pleasing than the hackneyed result a florist would attain, should
she summon him to her aid. A quantity of roses lightly grouped in a bowl
or arranged in a basket has a grace which is not found in a merely
conventional arrangement. There are artistic bunches of wild flowers
which give delight whenever the eye falls on them, and clusters of ferns
which on a hot summer's day make one feel cool and comfortable. A pot
of growing violets is a simple thing, but it is infinitely better than a
"design" from a greenhouse. No one should despair if she cannot have a
professional to help her arrange the flowers for her luncheon table; let
her give thanks.
[Illustration]
There are combinations of flowers which give prettier effect than does
one flower alone, such as jonquils and violets, or white hyacinths, or
mignonette and Roman hyacinths, or scarlet carnations and white roses. A
little study will enable the hostess to plan something unique and
attractive. Indeed, her personal touch is needed nowhere so much as
here, since she can stamp her decorations with her individuality.
Besides the flowers, a decorative effect is given to the table by the
small dishes of silver, or silver-gilt, and cut glass, which stand
around the centrepiece and hold salted nuts, bonbons, almonds, candied
ginger, crystallised fruits, and often peeled radishes, celery hearts,
and jelly as well. These are seen in silver with a stem three inches
high for the daintier things, but any pretty bonbon dishes are correct
form, whatever they are.
After these things are in place, the silver is next to be considered:
luckily the fashion of displaying all one happens to own is no longer
considered in good taste; it was always rather vulgar and savoured of
the shop, and no one can regret that the fancy has gone by. All that is
needed now is the oyster fork, or, if fruit is to be the first course, a
spoon or fork on the right, then the soup spoon, and either one or two
knives as will be needed; on the left either two or three forks; the
handsome dessert or ice cream spoon may lie across the top of the plate.
There are always changes going on in table silver, yet good things are
really never out of date. For instance, bouillon spoons have perfectly
circular bowls at present, yet if one does not happen to own a set of
these, teaspoons do quite as well to use with small cups or bowls. So
with salad forks; the tines grow longer or shorter from season to
season, yet any fork may be used for salad, whether intended for that
particular course or not. Ordinary ice-cream spoons or forks are
modified also; sometimes one sees a combination of the two, or a
spade-shaped spoon is pronounced the only proper thing. Since every
year brings out something new, the only safe rule for the housekeeper
to observe is to buy things which are not extreme, and then use them
with an easy mind, whatever be the fancies of the day.
The custom of having a decorated service plate at each place is such a
good one that it is likely to remain long in vogue. It is intended to
hold the oyster plate, the plate with the bouillon bowl if the latter
has no saucer, and the plate with the first hot course, after which it
is removed with the one that has been used. When the guests come to the
table this service plate holds a roll folded in a napkin.
[Illustration]
Small bowls with two handles are used for the bouillon or soup at
luncheon, but if one does not have them, an ordinary cup of rather good
size is substituted. The plates used are ordinarily of rather smaller
size than those seen at dinner, as the dishes are of a lighter
character, and the handsomest are reserved for the fingerbowls, which
are put on the table with the bonbons and coffee only, unless the meal
begins with fruit, when they appear twice.
The question of lighting the table is one that often puzzles young
housekeepers or novices at entertaining. "Shall we use candles at
_luncheon_?" they ask, bewildered at the seeming absurdity of the idea.
At first thought it may seem that is a foolish thing to do, yet there is
good reason for having them at certain times. In the city, especially in
winter, the dining-room is apt to be dark and therefore gloomy, and the
cheerful glow of candles is both attractive and hospitable. Besides,
they are extremely decorative: indeed, one sees them unlighted sometimes
at formal luncheons when the day is sunny, used entirely for the colour
they give the table. On the other hand, they should not be recklessly
and indiscriminately used, for there are days when they would be
ridiculously out of place, as in the summer, with open windows and a
flood of brilliant light in the room. They are also out of place at a
very simple meal to which only a few friends sit down, but they are in
keeping with a rather elaborate company luncheon, and on a table set for
such a meal they are both beautiful and appropriate.
There are other pretty ways of lighting the table besides using candles;
there are devices to be used where electricity is available, such as
lovely little electric candles with rose shades which give the effect of
real flowers; then there are varieties of lamps, especially the
so-called "fairy lamp," a pretty thing which is very practical as well
as attractive; there are also combinations of the lamp and candle,
which have in their favour the fact that they do not take fire and
destroy their shades. But nothing is ever prettier than the
old-fashioned wax candle in white or colour, in silver candlesticks,
with or without shades. Nothing gives such reflections on the dishes,
the silver and glass, and the mirror-like surface of polished wood as
their flickering lights. If one owns several of these, she has the
foundation for endless variety. She may group them in twos, or stand
them singly about the table, or she may buy a branched top and convert
one into a candelabrum, or she may arrange several candelabra in the
same way.
As to shades, a clever woman can always keep herself supplied with
prettier ones than the shops can afford, provided she is skilful with
the needle and paint brush. She can have them of plain pasteboard with a
border in colours and a pattern of painted flowers, or a conventional
design. Or, she can buy dozens of silk or cotton rose petals and make
really beautiful things with them. Or, if she has plenty of money and no
time to spare, she can buy almost anything, from simple shades of paper
roses or chrysanthemums to imported arrangements made by artistic
fingers in silk and flowers together. Unless, however, she is prepared
to buy a new set quite frequently, she will always invest in one or two
more than she needs, lest some day she finds one burned and none to
match it in the shops.
Guest cards are really necessary,--primarily, in order to avoid
confusion in seating a number of persons in a short time, but with a
secondary reason for their existence which is not to be overlooked: they
enable the hostess to seat together those who have most in common and
who will start the ball of conversation rolling, and keep it going.
Many a meal has proved stupid and tiresome to some one because she sat
by an uncongenial fellow-guest; a hostess shows her tact--or her lack of
it--by the way she plans the seats of those who are to surround the
table.
As to favours, they are in no way essential; they are suggested here
merely because they afford some opportunity for originality, and serve
to break the ice at the very beginning of a meal. They are not for the
older woman, who will doubtless despise them, but for the girl-hostess
who is gay enough still to care for whatever raises a laugh. They should
depend for their worth not on any intrinsic value, for they should have
none, but on their cleverness, their appropriateness; those mentioned
are only "suggestions;" every hostess should from these go on to others
which have more to them.
Just a word of warning as to the menu. Do not try and transform into a
"function" what should be only a light and pleasant luncheon. The
moment that is done, and a demand is made for extreme thought and
preparation on the part of the hostess, and formality on the part of the
guests, that moment the whole affair becomes a weariness to the flesh
and spirit, and the charm is gone. There is no limit to the number of
courses a hostess may offer if she really sets out to show what she can
do if she tries; every year gastronomic possibilities increase, and an
ambitious woman may pile pates on croquettes, and salads on sherbets,
and creams on top of everything else _ad libitum_, if she so wishes. But
a luncheon should be a luncheon, not a cooking-school display. It should
be delightful to the eye, delicious to the palate, sufficiently
elaborate to show respect to one's guests, and yet simple enough to be
in good taste; restraint rather than ostentatious display should give
the meal the refining touch which is needed to make it really complete.