I would, however, give a few general directions.
Have some flowers — real ones, if possible — and also
mix plenty of green leaves with them. Try to alternate
the dishes in colour. For instance, do not place a
white mould of blancmange next to a dish of custard
or a mayonnaise salad. Again, do not overcrowd the
table.
We will go through a variety of dishes suitable for
supper, explaining, where necessary, how they should be
made, and also giving hints as to how they may be
improved in appearance.
First, a very good dish is a cold roast turkey, glazed.
WTiat a difference, however, in appearance between one
that has been glazed and one that has not ! Did you
ever notice a plank of mahogany just fresh planed, and
contrast it with the well-polished flap of a Spanish
mahogany dining-room table ? Now there is almost
as much difference between cold tongue, or turkey, or
fowl, or pheasant unglazed and glazed, as there is
between a mahogany plank unpoHshed and polished.
I will not enter here into an elaborate description of
the proper method of making glaze, beyond describing
it as good rich stock, boiled down till it has the appear-
ance of strong liquid glue. In making glaze, great
care should be taken so as not to allow it to remain
too long on the fire. As soon as the stock begins to
turn colour, remove the stock-pot from the fire, and
quickly slacken the heat, otherwise the contents will
get burnt, and much of the flavour destroyed, especially
if the glaze be intended for the purpose of making
either soup or gravy. The simplest method of obtaining
74
PRACTICAL HOME COOKERY.
glaze is to buy it ready-made — it is sold in skins —
only take care to get it at a thoroughly respectable
shop.
Now, to glaze a turkey is so very similar to varnishing
one, that perhaps the easiest method of describing
the operation is to say : — Melt some of the glaze in a
little basin, and add, if you like, a very little water to
it. Then take a fairly stiff brush and paint the turkey
all over, drumsticks and all, making the breast particu-
larly shiny. You will now see how very much the
turkey has improved in appearance. It has, in fact, a
rich mahogany look. If you are glazing, say, a couple
of fowls, the principle is just the same. You will see
the difference directly. By doing one first, and then
comparing the two, you will understand the meaning of
the simile I have given in reference to the mahogany.
Next, take some nice, fresh, bright-green double
parsley, and fit some into all the hollow places you
may observe about the turkey, of course trying as
much as possible to make each side look alike. Place
the turkey on a good-sized clean dish, and garnish it
with some more parsley and cut lemon. I will try to
describe, as some may not know how, the best method
of cutting lemon for garnish. Cut a lemon in half the
ordinary way, and then with a sharp knife cut off a
thin slice, which is of course a complete circle, the
centre being white, and the circumference a thin rim of
yellow peel. Cut this in half again, thereby leaving
you two semicircles. Next cut the semicircular rim —
only the rim, or peel, or circumference, whichever you
like to call it — through with a knife, and pull the two
quarters of circles open with your fingers, till they
stand exactly opposite each other.
Page 38
Presented as published in 1906. 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
I would, however, give a few general directions. Have some flowers — real ones, if possible — and also mix plenty of green leaves with them. Try to alternate the dishes in colour. For instance, do not place a white mould of blancmange next to a dish of custard or a mayonnaise salad. Again, do not overcrowd the table.
We will go through a variety of dishes suitable for supper, explaining, where necessary, how they should be made, and also giving hints as to how they may be improved in appearance.
First, a very good dish is a cold roast turkey, glazed. What a difference, however, in appearance between one that has been glazed and one that has not ! Did you ever notice a plank of mahogany just fresh planed, and contrast it with the well-polished flap of a Spanish mahogany dining-room table ? Now there is almost as much difference between cold tongue, or turkey, or fowl, or pheasant unglazed and glazed, as there is between a mahogany plank unpolished and polished.
I will not enter here into an elaborate description of the proper method of making glaze, beyond describing it as good rich stock, boiled down till it has the appearance of strong liquid glue. In making glaze, great care should be taken so as not to allow it to remain too long on the fire. As soon as the stock begins to turn colour, remove the stock-pot from the fire, and quickly slacken the heat, otherwise the contents will get burnt, and much of the flavour destroyed, especially if the glaze be intended for the purpose of making either soup or gravy. The simplest method of obtaining
glaze is to buy it ready-made — it is sold in skins — only take care to get it at a thoroughly respectable shop.
Now, to glaze a turkey is so very similar to varnishing one, that perhaps the easiest method of describing the operation is to say : — Melt some of the glaze in a little basin, and add, if you like, a very little water to it. Then take a fairly stiff brush and paint the turkey all over, drumsticks and all, making the breast particularly shiny. You will now see how very much the turkey has improved in appearance. It has, in fact, a rich mahogany look. If you are glazing, say, a couple of fowls, the principle is just the same. You will see the difference directly. By doing one first, and then comparing the two, you will understand the meaning of the simile I have given in reference to the mahogany.
Next, take some nice, fresh, bright-green double parsley, and fit some into all the hollow places you may observe about the turkey, of course trying as much as possible to make each side look alike. Place the turkey on a good-sized clean dish, and garnish it with some more parsley and cut lemon. I will try to describe, as some may not know how, the best method of cutting lemon for garnish. Cut a lemon in half the ordinary way, and then with a sharp knife cut off a thin slice, which is of course a complete circle, the centre being white, and the circumference a thin rim of yellow peel. Cut this in half again, thereby leaving you two semicircles. Next cut the semicircular rim — only the rim, or peel, or circumference, whichever you like to call it — through with a knife, and pull the two quarters of circles open with your fingers, till they stand exactly opposite each other.