Family Lunches for Spring 128 Family Lunches for Summer 137 Family Lunches for Autumn . . . . .147 Family Lunches for Winter 157 • • • 111 CONTENTS « PAOB Dinner at Night 165 DiNNEB AT Noon , . 173 The Sunday Dinner 181 The Small Dinner-Pabty 188 A Large Dinner 196 Family Dinners for Spring 204 Family Dinners for Summer 213 Family Dinners for Autumn ....... 221 Family Dinners for Winter 230 What Shall We Eat ? . . x 239 The Children's Table 247 The Family Tea 255 Afternoon Tea 263 High Tea 271 Some Hints about Supper 279 China and Glass 288 Linen and Silver 296 Index 805 iv iVHAT TO EAT HOIV TO SERVE IT THB DmiNG-BOOM THE apartment in which the members of a family assemble three times a day for meals must be pleasant. There is a chance to escape from any other part of the house. The business man rarely sees his drawing- room until after the shades are drawn and the lamps lighted. The wife and mother divides her time between nursery, sewing- room, and kitchen, while school-children are out of the house nearly as much as they are in it — at least during their waking hours. But no matter how widelv the little flock may be scattered by their different employ- ments, always twice and often three times a 1 1 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SERVE IT day they are all together in this common rallying-place of the home. Only in the houses of the wealthy, or of those possessed of exceptionally large dwell- ings, is there found a breakfast-room other than that in which are eaten all the meals of the family. English mansions frequently possess both a family and a state dining- room, and the same custom prevails in some of the private palaces of our own million- aires; but in the average American home one room must do duty for every repast, whether simple or superb ; and in our large cities this apartment is too likely, alas! to be situated in the basement. The immeasurable superiority of a dining- room built above-ground over one even par- tially beneath it hardly needs demonstration — it is more cheerful, more airy, and as a consequence more healthful, better lighted, of finer proportions, and more susceptible of effective decoration and furnishing — the ad- vantages might be continued ad infinitum, No one who has ever had the pleasure of us- ing an up-stairs dining-room can contentedly 2 THE DINING-ROOM descend to one below the level of the street. Apart from every other consideration, such rooms are very liable to be damp. It is not uncommon to have carpets grow musty and mouldy on their floors, or to find a percepti- ble dampness on their walls. These faults may be to some extent remedied by a layer of thick felt paper under the carpet, and by good fires and constant and thorough venti- lation. A few housekeepers express their prefer- ence for basement dining-rooms because of the nearness of these to the kitchen, and the work saved thereby. This is an important consideration in houses where but one maid is kept. Her work as cook and waitress is almost doubled when she has to run up-stairs to remove the dishes fi-om the dumb-waiter, and then fly back to her kitchen between the intervals of waiting on the table. In the country and in country towns it is the rule rather than the exception to find the kitchen in the L, or as an extension, and on the same floor with the dining-room and parlor, but in the majority of city houses the apartment 3 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SEBVE IT

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Family Lunches for Spring 128 Family Lunches for Summer 137 Family Lunches for Autumn . . . . .147 Family Lunches for Winter 157 • • • CONTENTS « PAOB Dinner at Night 165 DiNNEB AT Noon , . 173 The Sunday Dinner 181 The Small Dinner-Pabty 188 A Large Dinner 196 Family Dinners for Spring 204 Family Dinners for Summer 213 Family Dinners for Autumn ....... 221 Family Dinners for Winter 230 What Shall We Eat ? . . x 239 The Children's Table 247 The Family Tea 255 Afternoon Tea 263 High Tea 271 Some Hints about Supper 279 China and Glass 288 Linen and Silver 296 Index 805 iVHAT TO EAT HOIV TO SERVE IT THB DmiNG-BOOM THE apartment in which the members of a family assemble three times a day for meals must be pleasant. There is a chance to escape from any other part of the house. The business man rarely sees his drawingroom until after the shades are drawn and the lamps lighted. The wife and mother divides her time between nursery, sewingroom, and kitchen, while school-children are out of the house nearly as much as they are in it — at least during their waking hours. But no matter how widelv the little flock may be scattered by their different employments, always twice and often three times a 1 1 day they are all together in this common rallying-place of the home. Only in the houses of the wealthy, or of those possessed of exceptionally large dwellings, is there found a breakfast-room other than that in which are eaten all the meals of the family. English mansions frequently possess both a family and a state diningroom, and the same custom prevails in some of the private palaces of our own millionaires; but in the average American home one room must do duty for every repast, whether simple or superb ; and in our large cities this apartment is too likely, alas! to be situated in the basement. The immeasurable superiority of a diningroom built above-ground over one even partially beneath it hardly needs demonstration — it is more cheerful, more airy, and as a consequence more healthful, better lighted, of finer proportions, and more susceptible of effective decoration and furnishing — the advantages might be continued ad infinitum, No one who has ever had the pleasure of using an up-stairs dining-room can contentedly THE DINING-ROOM descend to one below the level of the street. Apart from every other consideration, such rooms are very liable to be damp. It is not uncommon to have carpets grow musty and mouldy on their floors, or to find a perceptible dampness on their walls. These faults may be to some extent remedied by a layer of thick felt paper under the carpet, and by good fires and constant and thorough ventilation. A few housekeepers express their preference for basement dining-rooms because of the nearness of these to the kitchen, and the work saved thereby. This is an important consideration in houses where but one maid is kept. Her work as cook and waitress is almost doubled when she has to run up-stairs to remove the dishes fi-om the dumb-waiter, and then fly back to her kitchen between the intervals of waiting on the table. In the country and in country towns it is the rule rather than the exception to find the kitchen in the L, or as an extension, and on the same floor with the dining-room and parlor, but in the majority of city houses the apartment

What to eat, how to serve it