Luncheons

Cut very light bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick, then into rounds or squares two inches across. Saute them in butter on one side. When they are cold spread them with a thin covering of caviare moistened with a little oil and lemon .juice. Place on the top of each one a very thin slice of lemon. Caviare is the fermented roe of the sturgeon. It is a dish much esteemed in Russia, but the taste for it is not very general in other countries, so discretion should be used in serving it. It comes in small jars and can be obtained at grocers'. OYSTERS OR CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL Raw oysters and clams are served on the "half shell" for a first course. Blue Point oysters and Little Neck clams are the varieties preferred. The smallest ones, and those uniform in size, should be selected. They should be opened only a short time before serving. The muscle holding the mollusk to the shell is cut and the oyster or clam is served on the deep valve. Arrange the clams or oysters symmetrically in a circle, the beaks turned to the center, on a bed of cracked ice. Place in the middle a quarter of a lemon cut lengthwise, the top edge shaved off and the seeds extracted. Rest the piece of lemon on a sprig of parsley or any green leaf. Condiments, thin brown bread and butter sandwiches, and biscuits are passed with this course. The condiments (horseradish and tomato catsup, black and red pepper) may be placed on a dish, and the bread and biscuits arranged around them as in illustration. Chapter III SECOND COURSE Consomme of Beef Cream of Clams Consomme of Chicken Cream of Oysters Clam Broth Cream of Spinach Clam Bisque Cream of Celery Soups used for luncheon are served in cups. Any kind of soup can be used, but those given below are the ones generally employed. For other soups, see "Century Cook Book," page 97. CONSOMME OF BEEF Cut into pieces four pounds of beef taken from the under part of the round, and the meat cut from a knuckle of veal. Put them into a soup pot with two tablespoonfuls of liutter and let them brown on all sides. Then add a cujjful of water and let it fall to a glaze. This is to give color to the soup. Add five and a half quarts of cold water. Let it boil slowly for five to six hours. An hour before removing it add soup vegetables, a tablespoonful of salt, fifteen peppercorns, three cloves, two baydeaves, a little thyme, marjoram, and summer savory. Strain the soup through a cloth and let it cool without covering. When it is cold take off the grease. As no bones were boiled with the soup, it will be clear ; and as the meat was browned, it will have a good color. It can be made perfectly clear as follows: Pour the soup off the sediment which has fallen to the bottom of the dish. Stir into it while it is cold the whites of two eggs beaten enough to break them. Place it on the fire and stir it until it comes to the boiling-point ; the egg will then be cooked and have imprisoned any particles which clouded the soup. Let it boil violently for a few minutes, then draw it to the side of the range. Strain it again through a cloth. Heat it again before serving it. In summer this soup is sometimes served cold in the form of jelly. In this case the bone of the knuckle of veal must be cooked with it in order to make it jelly. Care must be taken that diiring the cooking the water only simmers, for if it boils lime will be extracted from the bone and it will be impossible to have a clear soup. CONSOMME OF CHICKEN Place a fowl in a suup pot with four quarts of cold water and let it come slowly to the boiling-point, then draw it to the side of the range and let it simmer for five or six hours. If it is allowed to boil the soup will be clouded by lime extracted from the bones.