A pleasant luncheon or breakfast party should possess the following characteristics : — a judiciously selected list of guests, a pi^ettily arranged table, a light yet artistic menu, with cups of claret, sauterne, hock, or chablis, iced ad libitum, and in no way spoilt by sugar. Liqueurs may be handed round to finish with, and the best coffee you can make should follow. In composing your menu, you should avoid adhering in any way to the order and style of a dinner. Thus, you must not give any soup at all, but lead off with oysters in their shells accompanied by brown bread and butter cut thin, limes cut into quarters, and vinegars and peppers of kinds. An old standing dish to commence a luncheon party used to be mulligatunny. If properly made, this soup is a meal in itself : there are so many condiments, spices, and highly flavoui^ed elements in its composition, — not to mention the concomitant ladleful of rice which custom decrees, — that he who partakes of it finds the delicate power of his palate vitiated, as far as the appreciation of any dainty plat that may follow is concerned, whilst the edge of his appetite is left unto him sorely blunted. So I say, reserve mulligatunny for your luncheon at home when alone, enjoy it thoroughly, rice and all, and — nothing more. A ON LUNCHEONS. 187 Having discussed your oysters, some half dozen dishes or so may follow, carefully contrasted one with another, and by no means dinner-like in their order thus : — An antipasto of oysters, or olives aux michois. Fish fricaseed with cucumbers, orlys, or a mayonnaise. Fillets of beef piques with horse radish sauce or creme d'anchois, garnished with potato chips, or a dish of cotelettes a J a Be for me, a la sonhise, ^'c. Maccaroni a Vltalienne, or au jamhon. Cold galantine of hen turkey, or capon, delicately sliced, and handed round, with a salad. A Ceylon prawn curry swimming in creamy gravy, with pieces of vegetable marrow associated with it. A chaud-froid of snipes. Fruits in cream ; liqueur. This menu is obviously susceptible of the pruning knife. At least one of the dishes could easily be cut out, and cheese with " green butter," and hors d'ceuvres again, might follow the sweet dish. A really carefully executed mayonnaise is a grand lun- cheon dish, and a cauliflower, or any first class vegetable, au gratin is invariably acceptable. For a small luncheon party, after the oysters I would give a dish of fish, followed by a simple entree from class I, a cauliflower aii gratin, the galantine, a mayonnaise, a sweet, cheese, and hors d'ceuvres. In fact, if you disabuse your mind of dinner altogether, and compose a little menu of mixed dishes, in- troducing some slices of cold dressed meat about the mid- dle thereof, you cannot go far wrong. Spiced pressed beef, or corned hump, lamb and mint sauce, pigeon pie or game pie, or the galantine aforesaid, are the sort of dishes from which you can select your central effect. It not giving a 188 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS. mayonnaise, a salad ought certainly to accompany the coki meat, and potatoes artistically dressed may go round.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

A pleasant luncheon or breakfast party should possess the following characteristics : — a judiciously selected list of guests, a prettily arranged table, a light yet artistic menu, with cups of claret, sauterne, hock, or chablis, iced ad libitum, and in no way spoilt by sugar. Liqueurs may be handed round to finish with, and the best coffee you can make should follow. In composing your menu, you should avoid adhering in any way to the order and style of a dinner. Thus, you must not give any soup at all, but lead off with oysters in their shells accompanied by brown bread and butter cut thin, limes cut into quarters, and vinegars and peppers of kinds. An old standing dish to commence a luncheon party used to be mulligatunny. If properly made, this soup is a meal in itself : there are so many condiments, spices, and highly flavoured elements in its composition, — not to mention the concomitant ladleful of rice which custom decrees, — that he who partakes of it finds the delicate power of his palate vitiated, as far as the appreciation of any dainty plat that may follow is concerned, whilst the edge of his appetite is left unto him sorely blunted. So I say, reserve mulligatunny for your luncheon at home when alone, enjoy it thoroughly, rice and all, and — nothing more. A Having discussed your oysters, some half dozen dishes or so may follow, carefully contrasted one with another, and by no means dinner-like in their order thus : — An antipasto of oysters, or olives aux michois. Fish fricaseed with cucumbers, orlys, or a mayonnaise. Fillets of beef piques with horse radish sauce or creme d'anchois, garnished with potato chips, or a dish of cotelettes a la Beeforme, a la sonhise, ^'c. Maccaroni a Vltalienne, or au jambon. Cold galantine of hen turkey, or capon, delicately sliced, and handed round, with a salad. A Ceylon prawn curry swimming in creamy gravy, with pieces of vegetable marrow associated with it. A chaud-froid of snipes. Fruits in cream ; liqueur. This menu is obviously susceptible of the pruning knife. At least one of the dishes could easily be cut out, and cheese with " green butter," and hors d'ceuvres again, might follow the sweet dish. A really carefully executed mayonnaise is a grand luncheon dish, and a cauliflower, or any first class vegetable, au gratin is invariably acceptable. For a small luncheon party, after the oysters I would give a dish of fish, followed by a simple entree from class I, a cauliflower aii gratin, the galantine, a mayonnaise, a sweet, cheese, and hors d'ceuvres. In fact, if you disabuse your mind of dinner altogether, and compose a little menu of mixed dishes, introducing some slices of cold dressed meat about the middle thereof, you cannot go far wrong. Spiced pressed beef, or corned hump, lamb and mint sauce, pigeon pie or game pie, or the galantine aforesaid, are the sort of dishes from which you can select your central effect. It not giving a mayonnaise, a salad ought certainly to accompany the cold meat, and potatoes artistically dressed may go round.

Culinary jottings