The sauce must surround, but not submerge, the entree : it is poured from a gravy-cup with a spout, and the edge of the dish must be free from drops or splashes. If the cutlets after being dressed in a circle SIZE AND SHAPE OF DISHES. 29 are to have a garnish in the centre, that must be heaped up and not strewn carelessly ; there must be enough and not too much of it. If the cutlets are to be placed on a border of mashed potatoes, as is done to prevent their shifting, it must be firm so as not to wash away with the gravy and make a sort of white mud. Small silver or plated hoops are now sold, which are of use in keeping the contents of the dish in the proper place. SILVER BORDER. All those entrees which consist of large timbales must be sent up on dishes of a similar shape to the timbale —that is, a round mould on a round dish, an oval mould on an oval dish ; therefore in buying moulds it is necessary to adhere to the shapes of the dishes, china or silver, in which they are to be sent up. What is called a hash dish, i.e. a deep dish, either oval or round, is best not only for hashes, but for jugged hare (' civet de lievre '), Irish stew, chicken and rice (' polio con arroz '), and those preparations of which the parts do not admit of being symmetrically arranged. It is desirable to have lining dishes either of metal or china (to bear oven-heat) which fit into the dishes sent to 30 CHOICE OF DISHES. table, so that all food prepared ' au gratin ' can come to table in the dish in which it has been cooked. The cook should be told beforehand which china, silver, or glass dishes she is to use, and a silver dish must not first undergo a hasty hot-water bath, and then receive a mould of jelly. SERVING THE DINNER. 31 CHAPTER VII. SERVING THE DINNER AND WAITING. In ordering a dinner, it is necessary to consider how many dishes the staff in the kitchen can prepare so as to send them up hot, and how many the staff in the dining- room can hand round without protracting the meal and wearying the guests. It is sometimes expedient to have one or two cold dishes which the cook can prepare beforehand, to be served while she is most busy with the next hot dish ; and it may also be expedient to select dishes which do not require carving, so as to relieve the labours of the butler, and to substitute a dish which can be handed round for one that must be cut up, at a certain stage of the dinner. The old-fashioned mode of setting a number of dishes on the table at the same time has been given up ; even when the carving is done by the host, or hostess, only the dish to be carved is placed on the table. If there is only one servant and the dish requires a sauce, the small tureen should be placed by the side of the host or hostess, so that the servant is not called on to hand it round, and the guest is not kept waiting. The simplest arrangements must in one sense be the rule when only one servant, male or female, has to wait at table ; in another sense, however, the 32 WAITING AT TABLE.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The sauce must surround, but not submerge, the entree : it is poured from a gravy-cup with a spout, and the edge of the dish must be free from drops or splashes. If the cutlets after being dressed in a circle [illustration: SILVER BORDER] SIZE AND SHAPE OF DISHES. 29 are to have a garnish in the centre, that must be heaped up and not strewn carelessly ; there must be enough and not too much of it. If the cutlets are to be placed on a border of mashed potatoes, as is done to prevent their shifting, it must be firm so as not to wash away with the gravy and make a sort of white mud. Small silver or plated hoops are now sold, which are of use in keeping the contents of the dish in the proper place. SILVER BORDER. All those entrees which consist of large timbales must be sent up on dishes of a similar shape to the timbale —that is, a round mould on a round dish, an oval mould on an oval dish ; therefore in buying moulds it is necessary to adhere to the shapes of the dishes, china or silver, in which they are to be sent up. What is called a hash dish, i.e. a deep dish, either oval or round, is best not only for hashes, but for jugged hare (' civet de lievre '), Irish stew, chicken and rice (' polio con arroz '), and those preparations of which the parts do not admit of being symmetrically arranged. It is desirable to have lining dishes either of metal or china (to bear oven-heat) which fit into the dishes sent to 30 CHOICE OF DISHES. table, so that all food prepared ' au gratin ' can come to table in the dish in which it has been cooked. The cook should be told beforehand which china, silver, or glass dishes she is to use, and a silver dish must not first undergo a hasty hot-water bath, and then receive a mould of jelly. SERVING THE DINNER. 31 CHAPTER VII. SERVING THE DINNER AND WAITING. In ordering a dinner, it is necessary to consider how many dishes the staff in the kitchen can prepare so as to send them up hot, and how many the staff in the diningroom can hand round without protracting the meal and wearying the guests. It is sometimes expedient to have one or two cold dishes which the cook can prepare beforehand, to be served while she is most busy with the next hot dish ; and it may also be expedient to select dishes which do not require carving, so as to relieve the labours of the butler, and to substitute a dish which can be handed round for one that must be cut up, at a certain stage of the dinner. The old-fashioned mode of setting a number of dishes on the table at the same time has been given up ; even when the carving is done by the host, or hostess, only the dish to be carved is placed on the table. If there is only one servant and the dish requires a sauce, the small tureen should be placed by the side of the host or hostess, so that the servant is not called on to hand it round, and the guest is not kept waiting. The simplest arrangements must in one sense be the rule when only one servant, male or female, has to wait at table ; in another sense, however, the 32 WAITING AT TABLE.

Cookery and housekeeping