Violet Luncheon. — A luncheon for six people
that I had the pleasure of attending recently was
an exceedingly dainty affair. The table was luxu-
riantly decorated with violets ; the china service
was all, more or less, hand-painted, with the violet
as the chief color. The menu was as follows :
Bierre de Malaga
Toast with anchovy paste
Oysters a la John Chamberlin
Eggs en casserole
Quail, chafing-dish style
Creme Yvette sorbet a la Waldorf
The Autocrat and the Chafiiig-dish. 121
Three silver chafing-dishes stood ready on the
side-table, one being placed in front of the host
for each course. The servant passed him the ma-
terials for making each dish just as they were
wanted, everything being temptingly placed on
the side-table close at hand. The first was simply
an imported appetizer. Directions for the three
following courses can be found by consulting the
index. The quail was cooked as the recipe is given
for spring chicken. The last, a violet sorbet, espe-
cially delighted the women ; the recipe I obtained
from the Hotel Waldorf, as follows : One gallon
orange and lemon ice, one-half bottle Creme Yvette,
and two teaspoonfuls of vegetable violet color✪ Creme Yvette Sorbet a la Waldorf.
Creamed Oysters a la Eugene McCarthy.
— Here is a recipe for two : One pint oysters, one
cup cream, one-half cup sherry, two tablespoonfuls
Worcestershire, two drops tabasco, two walnuts of
butter, small bunch celery cut fine, salt to suit✪ Creamed Oysters a la Eugene McCarthy.
Stew until the gills of the oysters frill.
L’ENVOI.
My dear Cook Man :
You’re great on la eat; but don’t forget la
drink. Par example, the little trick of turning
new wine into old — no miracle — a teaspoonful of
very hot water in the table d'hote red wine of
California, and at once you have a fair St.
Emilion or St. Estephe or Macon of five years
old. Then the raw young whiskey, if it is good,
treated with two lumps of sugar to the quart and
left open a few hours, takes on age and mellow-
ness with astonishing rapidity. Urge Christians
not to drink foreign champagnes that don’t come
out of a king’s or a Rothschild’s cellar. San
Franciscan champagne, if tabulated ten dollars a
bottle, would be in demand the world over. Cool
it, but don’t ice it. Vat’en au diable, prie.
Ton ami,
Saint Maur.
*
* *
I have loved that alliterative complement, Sala
and Savarin, not because ( entre nous ) I think life’s
enjoyment is mainly what the little pigs may be
L Envoi.
123
thinking of, sketched in my first chapter, but
because in all that they have written (not the pigs,
but S. and S.) there has been created an atmos-
phere of the most genial bonhomie. Poor Sala died
the month this was going to press, and his last
parting gift to the library shelf was a book on
cooking, the result of his contemplation of years.
But he alludes to the fascination the kitchen had
for him, in both his bachelorhood and married state,
in his “ Life and Adventures.”
Page 41 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Violet Luncheon. — A luncheon for six people that I had the pleasure of attending recently was an exceedingly dainty affair. The table was luxuriantly decorated with violets ; the china service was all, more or less, hand-painted, with the violet as the chief color. The menu was as follows :
Bierre de Malaga Toast with anchovy paste Oysters a la John Chamberlin Eggs en casserole Quail, chafing-dish style Creme Yvette sorbet a la Waldorf
[illustration: The Autocrat and the Chafing-dish. 121]
Three silver chafing-dishes stood ready on the side-table, one being placed in front of the host for each course. The servant passed him the materials for making each dish just as they were wanted, everything being temptingly placed on the side-table close at hand. The first was simply an imported appetizer. Directions for the three following courses can be found by consulting the index. The quail was cooked as the recipe is given for spring chicken. The last, a violet sorbet, especially delighted the women ; the recipe I obtained from the Hotel Waldorf, as follows : One gallon orange and lemon ice, one-half bottle Creme Yvette, and two teaspoonfuls of vegetable violet color.
Creamed Oysters a la Eugene McCarthy. — Here is a recipe for two : One pint oysters, one cup cream, one-half cup sherry, two tablespoonfuls Worcestershire, two drops tabasco, two walnuts of butter, small bunch celery cut fine, salt to suit. Stew until the gills of the oysters frill.
L’ENVOI.
My dear Cook Man :
You're great on la bonne chère; but don’t forget la drink. Par example, the little trick of turning new wine into old — no miracle — a teaspoonful of very hot water in the table d'hote red wine of California, and at once you have a fair St. Emilion or St. Estephe or Macon of five years old. Then the raw young whiskey, if it is good, treated with two lumps of sugar to the quart and left open a few hours, takes on age and mellowness with astonishing rapidity. Urge Christians not to drink foreign champagnes that don’t come out of a king’s or a Rothschild’s cellar. San Franciscan champagne, if tabulated ten dollars a bottle, would be in demand the world over. Cool it, but don’t ice it. Vat’en au diable, prie.
Ton ami,
Saint Maur.
*
* *
I have loved that alliterative complement, Sala and Savarin, not because ( entre nous ) I think life’s enjoyment is mainly what the little pigs may be
L Envoi.
thinking of, sketched in my first chapter, but because in all that they have written (not the pigs, but S. and S.) there has been created an atmosphere of the most genial bonhomie. Poor Sala died the month this was going to press, and his last parting gift to the library shelf was a book on cooking, the result of his contemplation of years. But he alludes to the fascination the kitchen had for him, in both his bachelorhood and married state, in his “ Life and Adventures.”
Records on this page
Creme Yvette Sorbet a la WaldorfCreamed Oysters a la Eugene McCarthy