Foods and home making

In what order is food served for a luncheon or a supper? Turn to the plans for luncheons or suppers on page 328. In the menus containing soups, do you see that soups are placed first ? The reason for this was explained on page 236. Then the main course follows. This course contains the main dish, bread and butter, and often a vegetable. If a salad is contained in a menu, it may be served after or with the main course. 336 Luncheon or Supper The dessert, as explained on page 3 n, is the last course. In writing a menu, the beverage is usually listed with or after the dessert. Some persons prefer to drink the beverage with or after the dessert and others like it earlier in the meal. For formal service the beverage is served at the close of a luncheon or a dinner. In the home where there is no one to help with the meals, it is sensible to serve foods in just as few courses as possible. If a luncheon or supper is very simple and consists only of a hot main dish, bread and butter, dessert or salad, and beverage, all the foods for the meal can be put on the table before the family sits down. Since the dessert or salad is a cold food, it will not be harmed by standing on the dining table until the other foods are eaten. What do you need to keep in mind when getting a meal ? A girl once said fifteen minutes before a meal was to be served : “ I wish I had an extra pair of hands.” She was getting the meal all by herself for the first time. To her it seemed that there remained more than one person could do before the meal was to be served. Perhaps you have had a like experience. Until one learns how, getting a meal on time seems overwhelming. We do know, however, that there are persons who can get an elaborate meal and have every food just in the right condition — hot or cold — at the appointed time. Let us consider this problem. If you are cooking mashed potatoes, you must know how long a time is required for potatoes to become tender. . You must know also how long it is going to take you to pare and to mash the potatoes. You will find that you need to know the time required (1) to make a food tender , and (2) to prepare the food for cooking and for serving. If you are preparing mashed potatoes, roast beef, gravy, and lettuce salad, you cannot finish up entirely any one of these foods and then turn to another food. You will have to do Luncheon or Supper Menus — Calories 337 some work on one and then work on the second and third and perhaps come back to all of them just before the meal is served. To do this, you will have to learn to be a good manager. Since you must have several foods ready to serve at one time, you will have to know what foods are unharmed by standing after cooking and what foods must be served immediately after cooking. In getting a meal, it is very important to keep in mind every step in preparation. Decide : 1. What foods require the longest to cook 2. What foods must be cooked and then cooled before serving 3. What you can do while the foods are cooking, such as setting the table, placing dishes in the warming oven, or measuring the ingredients for a sauce or for a quick bread 4. What you must do just before the meal is served