Sherry. Oxtail Soup. Claret.
_Filet_ of lobster _à la Mazarin_.
Turkey rings with _purée_ of chestnuts.
Salad of fresh tomatoes.
Cream tart with meringue. Cheese.
This last dinner is perhaps enough for only a small party, but it is
very well composed. A much more elaborate _menu_ follows:--
Oysters on the half-shell.
Soup:
_Consommé royale_.
Fish: Rudesheimer.
Fried smelts, sauce Tartare,
Duchess potatoes.
Sherry. _Releves_:
Boned capon.
Roast ham. Champagne.
Madeira, _Entreés_:
Sweetbreads _braisé_.
Quails. Claret.
_Sorbet au kirsch_.
Game:
Port, Broiled woodcock, Chambertin.
Canvas-back duck.
Vegetables:
Cauliflower, Spinach, French peas,
Stewed tomatoes. Château Yquem.
Dessert:
Frozen pudding, _Biscuits Diplomats_.
_Meringues Chantilly_, Assorted Cake.
Fruit.
Brandy. Coffee. Cordials.
An excellent bill of fare for eight persons, in the month of October,
is the following:--
Soup.
Bisque of crayfish.
Fish.
Baked smelts, _à la Mentone_,
Potato balls, _à la Rouenaise_,
Ribs of beef braised, stewed with vegetables.
Brussels sprouts.
Roast birds, or quail on toast.
Celery salad.
To make a bisque of crayfish is a very delicate operation, but it is
worth trying:--
Have three dozen live crayfish, wash them well, and take the
intestines out by pinching the extreme end of the centre fin,
when with a sudden jerk the gall can be withdrawn. Put in a
stewpan two ounces of butter, with a carrot, an onion, two
stalks of celery, two ounces of salted pork, all sliced fine,
and a bunch of parsley; fry ten minutes, add the crayfish,
with a pint of French white wine and a quart of veal broth.
Stir and boil gently for an hour, then drain all in a large
strainer, take out the bunch of parsley and save the broth;
pick the shells off the crayfish tails, trim them neatly and
keep until wanted. Cook separately a pint and a half of rice,
with three pints of veal broth, pound the rest of the crayfish
and vegetables, add the rice, pound again, dilute with the
broth of the crayfish, and add more veal broth if too thick.
Pass forcibly through a fine sieve with a wooden presser, put
the residue in a saucepan, warm without boiling, and stir all
the while with a wooden spoon. Finish with three ounces of
table butter, a glass of Madeira wine, and a pinch of cayenne
pepper; serve hot in soup tureen with the crayfish tails.
_To prepare baked smelts à la Mentone_: Spread in a large and
narrow baking-dish some fish forcemeat half an inch thick,
have two dozen large, fresh, well-cleaned smelts, lay them
down in a row on the forcemeat, season with salt, pepper, and
grated nutmeg, pour over a thick white Italian sauce, sprinkle
some bread crumbs on them, put a small pat of butter on each
one and bake for half an hour in a pretty hot oven, then
squeeze the juice of a lemon over and serve in a baking-dish.
_To make potato balls à la Rouenaise_: Boil the potatoes and
rub them fine, then roll each ball in white of egg, lay them
on a floured table, roll into shape of a pigeon's egg, dip
them in melted butter, and fry a light brown in clear hot
grease. Sprinkle fine salt over and serve in a folded napkin.
_To prepare braised ribs of beef_: Have a small set of three
ribs cut short, cook it as _beef à la mode_, that is, stew it
with spices and vegetables, dish it up with carrots, turnips,
and onions, pour the reduced gravy over.
_To prepare Brussels sprouts, demi-glacé_: Trim and wash the
sprouts, soak them in boiling salted water about thirty
minutes, cool them in cold water, and drain them. Put six
ounces of butter in a large frying-pan, melt it and put the
sprouts in it, season with salt and pepper, fry on a brisk
fire until thoroughly hot, serve in a dish with a rich
drawn-butter sauce with chopped parsley.
A diplomatic supper was once served at the White House, of which the
following _menu_ is an accurate report:--
Salmon with green sauce.
Cold boned turkey, with truffles.
_Pâtés_ of game, truffled.
Ham cooked in Madeira sauce.
Aspic of chicken.
_Pâté de foie gras._
Salads of chicken and lobster in forms, surrounded by jelly.
Pickled oysters. Sandwiches.
Scalloped oysters.
Stewed terrapin.
Chicken and lobster croquettes.
_Chocolat à la crème._ Coffee.
Dessert:
Ices. Fancy meringue baskets filled with cream.
Pancakes. Large cakes.
Fancy jellies. Charlotte Russe.
Fruits.
Cake. Wafers. Nougat.
One could have satisfied an appetite with all this.
General Grant was probably the most _fêted_ American who ever visited
Europe. He was entertained by every monarch and by many most
distinguished citizens. The Duke of Wellington opened the famous
Waterloo Room in Apsley House in his honour, and toasted him as the
first soldier of the age. But it is improbable that he ever had a
better dinner than the following:--
It was given to him in New York, in 1880, at the Hotel Brunswick. It
was for ten people only, in a private parlour, arranged as a
dining-room _en suite_ with the Venetian parlour. The room was in rich
olive and bronze tints. The buffet glittered with crystal, and
Venetian glass. On the side tables were arranged the coffee service
and other accessories. The whole room was filled with flowers, the
chandelier hung with smilax, dotted with carnations. The table was
arranged with roses, heliotrope, and carnations, the deep purple and
green grapes hanging over gold dishes. The dinner service was of white
porcelain with heliotrope border, the glass of iridescent crystal. The
furnishing of the Venetian parlour, the rich carvings, the suits of
armour, the antique chairs were all mediæval; the dinner was modern
and American:--
Oysters.
Soup, _Consommé Royale_.
Fish:
Fried smelts, sauce Tartare.
_Releves_:
Boned capon.
_Entrées_:
Sweetbreads, _braisé_, Quails, _à la Perigord_.
_Sorbet au kirsch_.
Game.
Broiled woodcock, Canvas-back duck.
Terrapin.
Vegetables:
Cauliflower, Spinach, Artichokes, French peas.
Dessert:
_Biscuits Diplomatiques_, Frozen pudding,
_Meringue Chantilly_, Assorted cakes.
Fruit. Coffee. Cigars.
Liqueurs.
Probably the last item interested and amused the General, who was no
_gourmet_, much more than even the terrapin.
This _menu_ for a November dinner cannot be surpassed.