Luncheons

Lay the boned ham on a cloth, draw it together and sew the cloth around it, pressing the ham firmly together, and giving it a good shape. Place a board and heavy weights on the ham, and let it cool while under this pressure. Remove the cloth. Trim it again, if necessary. Cover it with a meat glaze (see page 104). Garnish with a wreath of watercress. COLD FISH Garnished cold fish makes an ornamental and useful dish for buffet luncheons, and for summer service, when cold dishes of any kind are acceptable. Illustration No. 114 shows a bluefish boiled in upright position, covered with jellied mayonnaise and garnished with pickled beets, cranberries, and gherkins. It is placed on a layer of bread to raise it on the dish. To prepare the dish, place a carrot inside the fish to give it stability, then tie and prop it with vegetables on the kettle-strainer, in the position desired. Boil it slowly, allowing ten minutes to the pound. Put soup vegetables, a bay-leaf, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in the water. When cooked, lift the fish out carefully and let it get cold before removing it from the strainer. Take off the skin and cover it with a mayonnaise made as follows : Heat a ciipful of clear beef or chicken stock, and dissolve in it one and a half tablespoonfuls of granulated gelatine which has soaked for an hour in half a cupful of cold water. When it has cooled add half a cupful of oil, a tablespoonful of vinegar or of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and the beaten yolk of an egg. When it begins to set spread it over the fish with a knife. It will give a smooth, polished yellow covering. Garnish with slices of pickled beets stamped into various shapes. Bass, salmon, bluefish, and halibut are good varieties to serve cold. They may be masked with the aspic mayonnaise given above, or with a plain, thick mayonnaise, or with tartare sauce, or with maitre d 'hotel butter. The covering should be spread with a knife to make it smooth, and the fish kept in a cool place until the time of serving. Hardboiled eggs, capers, pickles, lettuce, watercress, and parsley are suitable garnishes. JELLIED CUTLETS Cut cold boiled sheepshead or other fish into flat, even pieces, each piece a size suitable for one portion. Lay them in a pan, leaving spaces between them. Place on each piece a thin slice of hard-boiled egg, then pour over them just enough aspic jelly to cover them. The aspic should have a little lemon juice or vinegar mixed with it to make it tart. When the jelly is set, cut the pieces apart with a sharp knife and arrange them on a dish with creamed horseradish sauce. FISH IN THE GARDEN Skin a cold boiled trout, bass, or other fish. Cover it with mayonnaise, or with maitre d 'hotel butter. Garnish it with aspic jelly and surround it with vegetables molded in jelly as in illustration No. 6. Use peas, beans, celery, etc. COLD HALIBUT Cover a thick piece of boiled halibut with mayonnaise. Sprinkle the top with chopped capers. Garnish it with potato salad, the potatoes being cut into balls. CHEESE CREAM CHEESE WITH BAR-LE-DUC CURRANTS Beat with a fork a square of Philadelphia cream cheese, or of domestic Neufchatel, until it is light and smooth. Whip three tablespoonfuls of cream to a stiff froth. Mix the cheese and whipped cream together lightly and pile the mixture on a dish in which it is to be served. Put it in a cool place. Just before serving pour over it a glassful of Bar-le- Duc red currants. Chapter X NINTH COURSE HOT DESSERTS Farina Croquettes Pudding, Huckleberry Pudding, Chocolate Bread Pudding, Cocoanut Bread Pudding, Fig Pudding, Green-Gage Pudding, Tapioca, with Prunes Bananas, Sauted