[JDessert ... Dessert, In addition to the above, the custom of presenting oysters before the soup is becoming daily more fashionable, and many people have adopted the practice of sending round liors d' oeiivres, in the continental manner, as a pre- lude to the repast. A matter of this kind is obviously a matter of taste, touching which no writer on cookery should take upon himself to lay dovra an arbitrary law. I am personally decidedly in favour of the oyster, or, when oysters cannot be got, of a single, well selected, Jiors (V ceuvre. The dainty atom titivates the palate, as it were, and prepares it for the soup that is about to come. When, however, a relish of this description is given, it will be found decidedly advantageous, be it noted, if plates con- taining it be put upon the table in the places laid for the guest before dinner is announced. The time that would be taken up in handing the dishes round, is in this way economised. Considerable diversity of opinion exists, I know, concern- ing the next point, viz., whether the entrees should precede the releves or follow them. Brillat Savarin's injunction was — " let the order of serving be from the more substan- tial dishes to the lighter ;" and Sir Henry Thompson says : — " As a rule, to which there are few exceptions, the procession of dishes after the fish is from the substantial to the more delicate, then to the contrasts between more piquant flavour and sweetness." Now, if we are to discuss this point properly, it seems to me that there is another very important factor in the debate that must not be lost sight of, viz., the rot, or roast. To this item of the menu Brillat Savarin gave, and Sir Henry Thompson gives, let us remember, its full and dis^ THE MENU. tinct value ; and it can hardly be denied that, if the rot be served correctly, the releve must be put further forward in the bill of fare. What, then, is the rot ? Well, from personal observation, I am constrained to say that this is a matter upon which many dinner-givers appear to be somewhat hazy. The rot is, correctly speaking, a service of roast poultry or game : it should be accompanied by a nice salad, and it is often garnished with potato chips and water-cress. An entremets de legume may either be handed round with it, or follow it separately. In Brillat Savarin's time the truffled turkey appeared as a rot, and Sir Henry Thompson recommends the presentation at this period of the feast of the truffled pheasant or capon, the dindonneau (turkey poult), the fatted fow^l, &c. It is, therefore, pretty evident that if we serve our rots according to this — the undoubtedly correct interpretation — it would be absolutely preposterous to serve immediately before them a goodly joint of mutton or of beef with its concomitant vegetables. Between two courses so nearly equal in substance, there would plainly be no contrast, and the effect would be overpowering and common-place.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

[JDessert ... Dessert, In addition to the above, the custom of presenting oysters before the soup is becoming daily more fashionable, and many people have adopted the practice of sending round liors d' oeiivres, in the continental manner, as a prelude to the repast. A matter of this kind is obviously a matter of taste, touching which no writer on cookery should take upon himself to lay dovra an arbitrary law. I am personally decidedly in favour of the oyster, or, when oysters cannot be got, of a single, well selected, Jiors (V ceuvre. The dainty atom titivates the palate, as it were, and prepares it for the soup that is about to come. When, however, a relish of this description is given, it will be found decidedly advantageous, be it noted, if plates containing it be put upon the table in the places laid for the guest before dinner is announced. The time that would be taken up in handing the dishes round, is in this way economised. Considerable diversity of opinion exists, I know, concerning the next point, viz., whether the entrees should precede the releves or follow them. Brillat Savarin's injunction was — " let the order of serving be from the more substantial dishes to the lighter ;" and Sir Henry Thompson says : — " As a rule, to which there are few exceptions, the procession of dishes after the fish is from the substantial to the more delicate, then to the contrasts between more piquant flavour and sweetness." Now, if we are to discuss this point properly, it seems to me that there is another very important factor in the debate that must not be lost sight of, viz., the rot, or roast. To this item of the menu Brillat Savarin gave, and Sir Henry Thompson gives, let us remember, its full and dis^ THE MENU. tinct value ; and it can hardly be denied that, if the rot be served correctly, the releve must be put further forward in the bill of fare. What, then, is the rot ? Well, from personal observation, I am constrained to say that this is a matter upon which many dinner-givers appear to be somewhat hazy. The rot is, correctly speaking, a service of roast poultry or game : it should be accompanied by a nice salad, and it is often garnished with potato chips and water-cress. An entremets de legume may either be handed round with it, or follow it separately. In Brillat Savarin's time the truffled turkey appeared as a rot, and Sir Henry Thompson recommends the presentation at this period of the feast of the truffled pheasant or capon, the dindonneau (turkey poult), the fatted fowl, &c. It is, therefore, pretty evident that if we serve our rots according to this — the undoubtedly correct interpretation — it would be absolutely preposterous to serve immediately before them a goodly joint of mutton or of beef with its concomitant vegetables. Between two courses so nearly equal in substance, there would plainly be no contrast, and the effect would be overpowering and common-place.

Culinary jottings