FoodNetArchive

Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

1885

Page 68

Presented as published in 1885. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
or game pies, croquettes and fritters with sauces, eggs in elaborate form with sauces, large cold side-dishes ; and the second-course sweets such as croquettes, charlottes, cro- quantes, timbales, cold puddings in moulds, hot puddings with sauces, pastries, moulded jellies and creams, meringues, souffles, and macedoines. Dessert {De/sert). — The dessert consists of the small cold sweets, such as eclairs, fancy cakes, nougats, confec- tionery, candied fruits, nuts, individual moulded jellies, ices, and creams, glaces and cafe noir. When it is divided in two parts, the dishes called glaces are served first; these include every sweet which can be crystallized, frozen or iced : after them comes the dessert proper, composed of candied and dry preserved fruits, nuts, bonbons, and little fancy cakes, or petit-fours, and the cheese and coffee. THE SERVICE OF DISHES. After the dinner-table is properly arranged in accordance with any chosen style, the service of the dinner becomes the matter of importance. Unless the various dishes are acceptably presented, the finest cookery loses its value ; and if the attendants do not know how to carry out the details of the service deftly and quietly, the comfort of the entire repast is destroyed. If strange waiters are brought into the house for any special occasion, they should be made per- fectly conversant with all the resources and facilities of the establishment. There should be a clear understanding as to just what is to be done by the servants in the kitchen, and those in the dining-room ; and, if possible, matters should be so planned that the waiters do not have to leave the room. All the dishes, and those parts of the dinner which need not be hot, should be in the dining-room before the meal is served, either upon the dinner-table or upon the side- board or side-table. Then, if the cook or kitchen-maid FLOWERS, BILLS OF FARE, AND WINES. liy brings the hot dishes to the door or into an adjoining-room, there need be no unnecessary delay. The oysters or clams on the half-shell are to be kept on the ice until just before the dinner is announced ; they are then to be arranged on appropriate plates, and set at each cover, the oyster-plate being placed on a large dicner-plate, which is to be removed with it when the hot plate is placed for the fish. A bit of lemon is to be put in the centre of the oyster-plate, six half-shells being served on each plate (except in California, where one can consume at least a dozen of the small delicious native bivalves) ; the small oyster-fork is laid either upon the plate, or beside it on the table. After the shellfish are eaten, the guest leaves the fork upon the plate so that it can be removed with it. Plates of brown bread, cut very thin and buttered, are placed upon the table with the shellfish, and removed with them. If this bread is intended for use with the salad, it should be served in .one compartment of a fancy basket or dish ; the other divisions containing biscuit, crackers, old cheese, olives, and small relishes. Butter intended to be used with the bread and salad should be made up in small fancy pats or balls and iced. The basket containing these articles should be re- moved from the table with the salad.