Class jDLnn Book . G : G 4- GopghtN COFflttGHT UEPOSrr. TIE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING hostess: > ' *. 1 f Jf " \ h f~ THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS ENTERTAINMENTS FOR ALL SEASONS AND OCCASIONS, DESCRIBED IN DETAIL BY A GROUP OF ACCOMPLISHED ENTERTAINERS ALSO THE COMPLETE RULES OF ETIQUETTE AND SOCIAL OBSERVANCE FOR THE HOSTESS THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO NewYoik Springfield, Mass Chicago LIBRARY Cf CONGRESS Two Copies Received DEC 19 1904 n Gopyngnt Entry JtAjLf / 3. J9o V- HBLASS #, XXC Noi COPY 8. <>5 COPYRIGHT, I904, BY THE PHELPS PUBLISHING CO TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SOCIAL LIFE 3-21 Sundry Obligations 3 Issuing and Receiving Invitations 1 Cards 7 The Christening . . • 8 Children's Parties 10 Coming-out Parties 11 Luncheons and Breakfasts 13 Formal Dinners 15 Weddings 17 In Bereavement 19 Wedding Anniversaries 20 DINNERS 25-93 A Dainty June Dinner 25 An Abbreviated Dinner 32 A Company Dinner 38 The Harvest Home 43 The Winter Feast 52 An Indian Dinner 61 A Harvest Dinner 62 Artistic Dinner Decorations 69 A Chinese Dinner (illustrated) 71 A Birthday Party (illustrated) 77 A Cherry Blossom Dinner (illustrated) 86 A "Cold Comfort" Dinner 90 An Omar Khayyam Dinner 91 A Literary Dinner 92 A Toy Dinner 93 CONTENTS l'AOE LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 97-146 A Springtime Luncheon (illustrated) 97 A Chicago Luncheon 106 For Independence Day 107 A University Luncheon Ill In Mexican Style 115 A Circus Luncheon 120 A Corn Luncheon 122 Eve's Luncheon 120 A Chinese Luncheon 127 Easter Luncheons (illustrated) 131 Ten- Cent Luncheons (illustrated) 137 A May Time Luncheon 141 A Curiosity Tea 143 A Spinster's Tea 145 A Sofa Pillow Tea 140 PARTIES FOR CHILDREN 149-171 A Happy Christening (illustrated) : 149 A Paper Party 151 A Winter Picnic (illustrated) 157 For the Little Folks (illustrated) 162 A "Three-Year-Okr Party 170 BOYS' AND GIRLS' PARTIES 175-188 Walking Letters 175 A Big Game Hunt 176 Easter Fun and Easter Feasting 181 Two Jolly Evenings 186 PARTIES FOR GROWN-UPS = 191-215 The Dicker Party 191 A Hap-Hazard Eoof Party 192 A Monotype Party (illustrated) 105 CONTENTS PAGE A Grown-Up Children's Parly 202 A Cinderella Party 204 For Card Parties 205 A Pumpkin Party 207 Tally Cards 208 A Hayseed Carnival 209 Tableaus 210 A Chrysanthemum Cotillion (illustrated).... 211 A Wigwam Dance 212 February Parties 213 A Civic Evening - 215 WEDDING PARTIES 219-228 A Bridesmaids' Tea 210 A Hausfrau Luncheon 220 A Golden Wedding 221 The Celebration of Wedding Anniversaries. .. 223 HALLOWEEN PARTIES , 231-253 Halloween Frolics 231 A Nutting Party 232 Fishing for Fate 23 i A Halloween Party. . 23C A Real Halloween 241 A Halloween Cobweb Party 247 Suggestions for Halloween (illustrated) 24i> HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES 257-282 A Spelling Bee 2.">< The Thanksgiving Table • • 258 A Bachelor's Thanksgiving Dinner (illus- trated) 261 A Jest Christmas Tree 268 A Twentieth-Century Christmas Tree 271 An Innovation 2 <4 CONTENTS PAGE OTHER SPECIAL OCCASIONS 285-299 A Birthday Party 285 Valentine Contests 286 A Heart Party for February 14 287 A Washington's Birthday Party 291 A St. Patrick's Day Party 294 An April Fool's Evening 296 CHURCH AFFAIRS 303-320 The Strawberry Festival 303 A Church Supper 312 A Charity Post Box 314 For the Sunday School 315 Sunday Hours .-. 317 Suppers and a Fagot Party (illustrated) 318 SOCIAL LIFE SOCIAL LIFE Sundry Obligations IT sometimes happens in our experience that though we possess many beautiful and valuable bits of information, we lack that very one for which we have immediate need, and like the lady who glories in nine rose point berthas and perforce remains away from the horse show for want of linen collar and cuffs, we may know quite glibly that the nation's chief in far-away Washington is addressed as His Excellency, and yet pucker our brows in vain bewilderment as to whether plain little next-door Lucy is our dear Mrs. Gray or' simply dear Lucy since she came home from the honeymoon. Perhaps it will help a little if we remember that all conventions are in their final analysis dictated by the heart and based on the golden rule. They may have been cut long ago at some grand court, and dried through usage among the gentlefolk of many lands, and yet they are less arbitrary than would seem at first thought. Rules of etiquette have always been equally binding on all members of the set which uses them, and as my lady is sometimes guest and on other occa- sions hostess, it would plainly be but natural for her to advocate the least irksome duty for each class; besides which is the fact that truly well-bred people regulate their conduct by kindly feeling for each other. 4 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS To be sure there are the fads which crop up from year to year, and the improper use of forks and finger bowls has been made such a bogie that many a woman, on her way to a large dinner, trembles at thought of the ordeal before her. But no lady need really fear. Table etiquette, like all the rest, is primarily to protect us from unpleasing spectacles; and it is by no means impossible for a gentlewoman to handle her asparagus in an old-fashioned manner without losing caste, while the person next her conforms to the fad of the day and yet offends by a too-evident enjoyment of her salad. If, then, you are not sure as to the exact require- ment in certain social obligations, and have no way oi finding out, do the thing you would consider graceful and kind were you in the position of the other person concerned ; and above all things, keep on your face the calm smile of self-possession, which goes so far to prove that you know what you are about. Issuing and Receiving Invitations Formal intercourse with our kind is regulated b\ old customs which are amended from time to time. Ii you are the entertainer and set out to be ceremonious then put yourself into the hands of the best stationei you can afford, and take his word for the correctness of your invitations. Strictly speaking, a handsome engraved invitation presupposes an entertainment of equal grandeur; and you may well hesitate and consider, before issuing such, whether your purse will permit you to fulfill what SOCIAL LIFE would seem to be the promise of the message. In large formal functions you must probably have aid from the caterer and the florist as well as the stationer ; in which case you will almost be a guest in your own house, and must certainly betray no care of cooking or serving; in fact, you must guard against flurry in even the simplest hospitality. Outside of the large centers of fashion the average x^merican woman has little time, or indeed taste, for strictly formal functions ; but throughout the land there blossoms a love for social meeting with one's friends, and never was there a time in our history when happy little circles and gatherings flourished as now. The invitations for less formal entertainments may be written in conventional third-person wording, fol- lowing the form of the engraved card. It is more common, however, when your intention is to gather together a party of friends for real pleasure, to be committed to nothing more conventional than good paper and ink, a fair penmanship (that the guests come not on Tuesday when your cook's orders are for two days later), and a respect for the age and the idiosyncrasies of the spelling book. The letters ]?. S. V. P., and even the later English form of requesting an answer to an invitation, have gone out of fashion : since the rule of reply is supposed to be an understood thing. To the receiver of invitations the rule of reply is comparatively simple: 1 You follow the "lead of the person who has invited you. If the invitation is for- 6 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS mally worded in the third person, your reply is similarly worded; and if a personal note bids you to a friend's house, you answer in an unconventional note. Invitations for receptions, ceremonious weddings, teas where many people are to be present, and all enter- tainments where the crowd would have to be provided for in any case, and your absence could not cause inconvenience, require no acknowledgment. If you go (except in case of church weddings) you leave a card, and if you do not attend 3-011 send your card, enclosed in an envelope, and preferably by messenger to be delivered during the entertainment. Invitations to dinners, breakfasts, luncheons, the opera, and in fact all entertainments where special place is to be kept for you, must be answered imme- diately. This is one of the most rigid rules of good breeding, since it is easily understood that no hostess can give her mind calmly to preparation until she has her list of guests complete. If you doubt your ability to attend you must decline at onee and give your friend I the opportunity to ask someone else. Once made, an engagement may be properly broken for but one cause — outside of illness or grave trouble — namely a con- flicting invitation from the President of these United States, and did we observe this rule there would be few chagrined or slighted hostesses in most parts of the country. In declining invitations it is always more courteous to give your reason, though of course this is not possible in all cases. * SOCIAL LIFE Iii a general way it may be said that every invita- tion, whether accepted or not, requires a call upon the hostess within two or three weeks after the entertain- ment ; but a breach in the case of general receptions or teas would be more easily forgiven than after dinners, luncheons (any feast where you have eaten at a place assigned specially to you), and those functions whose raison d'etre is to introduce a debutante or to honor some particular person or occasion. Cards It will not be amiss in closing this chapter on general matters of etiquette, to mention that small, but like the hairpin, indispensable aid to civilization, the visiting card. As with engraved invitations, you must advise with the stationer about size, thickness and type, for these things vary from season to season; though it is safe to say that a neat inconspicuous lettering, either Old English or script, is always in good taste. Initials are tabooed, the full name being always engraved on the card. If, as happens in many a home of the best culture, the hostess herself opens the door, you lay the cards quietly on some table when you rise to leave, one card for each lady of the household, whether you have seen them all or not. If there is a maid or a man servant, you put your bits of pasteboard into the salver offered you for that purpose; and for the sake of those unconventional souls who are- not afraid -to -approach a friend's door because cards hav« been forgotten, we -can only rejoice that all servants are not as zealous as the 8 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS negro maid who half shut the door in a lady's face, and said through the narrow crack : "You-all sho can't git into we-alPs house ef you ain't got airy ticket." The visiting card may be used as invitation to teas and afternoon receptions by having the hour and date written in the lower left-hand corner ; and it may carry messages of congratulation, condolence, or greeting with gifts, written on the back and signed with name or initials; but it is never used to carry thanks for any courtesy, in which case a note must be written. Finally, it will bear repetition that conventional- ities are based on a kindly desire to meet our fellows on common ground, where all may be at ease, and where none is required to give up all individual characteristics, but only to conform to those rules which are a neces- sity in any body of men and women. SPECIAL OCCASIONS The Christening My lady first meets the friends of her family when they are bidden to gather for her christening, or, in case that ceremony be not a part of her inheritance, she may be introduced at an old-time caudle party. Except for the religious service in the former, these two func- tions are practically^ the same, and on either occasion it is the most intimate of all the family feasts, only those people you really care for being honored with the engraved cards, or the notes asking their presence. SOCIAL LIFE The sponsors are requested by special note, or verbally, to act in that capacity, and tradition has it that the honor is prettily thanked with a gift of silver, a cup or porringer, or perhaps a spoon, for the infant. Other guests may send flowers to the mother, or gifts to the baby, though neither is obligatory. The hour is chosen according to my lady's sleepy time, for it is well to make as sure as possible of her gracious smiles by avoiding any infringement on her nap. She may be only six weeks old, and is like a pink rosebud as the nurse carries her about for the com- pany's admiration after the ceremony. She is dressed in the finest and softest gown that can be afforded, ail the better if it has been handed down from other family christenings ; two rosettes of baby ribbon, white, of course, on the shoulders show that it is "full dress" for her tiny ladyship ; and custom likes a small posy of white blossoms tucked in somewhere about her. She is carried away before long, and refreshments are served, perhaps the traditional caudle, a hot drink made of spiced and sweetened oatmeal water, but the equally old dish formerly concocted for the father and his men friends no longer appears, a fact which no one need regret. This was a mixture of sweetened, buttered toast, with boiling beer poured over; and for each piece of toast a man took from the big bowl, he put in a piece of money for the baby's nurse. The simplest', and to. many people the most refined form of refreshment, is a good wine passed with cake in the parlor. But perhaps the most general thing io THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS nowadays is a luncheon, at which the decorations and the dishes should be white as far as possible. Children's Parties Miss Baby - thus makes her first bow at an early age, but for the next years she keeps to her nursery, growing in sweetness and beauty all the time, until her days of children's parties come. The invitations for these give room for any amount of prettiness and inge- nuity. They may be written by the mother, or the child may pen them in his or her own wabbly characters; they may be in rhyme, or may be decorated with tiny water colors of Mother Goose people, or any other suitable subject. The little guests all reply as soon as possible, Inning also a wide range in the matter of their notes. There are a few secrets about making a party for little folks successful.- There should be as much music as possible; the games should be well planned before- hand, so that no drags occur; the refreshments must be simple and wholesome, and easily handled by chubby fingers; and. instead of one or two handsome prizes for skill in certain games, the aim should be to see that every child carries home some pretty trifle in the way of a favor. If the occasion is a birthday, and the guests bring gifts, good taste demands that these be simple and inexpensive; and a wise mother takes this occasion to teach my lady the why of removing cards from presents, explaining that their display invites comparison; which is. .unpleasant. SOCIAL LIFE Indeed the value of these little parties as an oppor- tunity to inculcate the principles of good breeding is very great; for the man or woman who learns manners and deportment before the age of ten never loses them in the sixty or more years of after life. My lady and her brothers will go to children's parties until well on in their teens, when gradually they find themselves siding off into informal clubs and societies at church and at school. The girls meet together from house to house, either to sew dainty things for charity, or to twang their mandolins and guitars; and the girl hostess has her first experiences with the chafing-dish and ice cream freezer. Occa- sionally they entertain their brothers; and though the thanks are apt to take the form of teasing and making fun, everybody knows the boys enjoy the feasts, else why do they take the girls coasting, or coax their mothers for little dances and Saturday matinee parties? Coming-Out Parties All this time my lady may have her visiting card if she likes, bearing her full name, Elizabeth Martin Graham, either with or without the prefix Miss, and never using a pet name or diminutive. When she is to be introduced into society her name is engraved on her mother's card, thus : Mrs. Alfred Rogers Graham Miss Graham and according to strict convention she must call with 12 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS her mother altogether, and wait a year before she can have cards of her own again (using her schoolgirl ones for very informal affairs), after which the bits pf pasteboard will be engraved Miss Graham. The introduction is made at a tea or reception given by the girl's mother ; and engraved invitations announcing that Mrs. Alfred Eogers Graham (with Miss Graham's name underneath) will be at home on. such a day from 4 until 7, are sent to every lady and gentleman, irrespective of age, with whom the mother desires to keep up her social relations. It is an unfor- givable slight to be left out of the number invited to meet one's friend's daughter. The invitations require no acknowledgment, but flowers may be sent to the girl; and the debutante of to-day has little enough pleasure in this first reception beyond the flowers she receives ; for whereas her mother, some twenty odd years ago, was introduced by a grand ball, and danced the night away without a touch of responsibility, my lady is simply and girlishly dressed, with high neck and long sleeves, and spends the time soberly standing at the door by her mother's side, to receive the guests as they come. One of the points a well-bred woman makes on this occasion is to present the girl to the guests, and not the guests to the debutante. The visitors speak with their hostesses a minute or two and then greet other friends; and it may be remarked here that even in the most informal call a man or woman of good manners always speaks to the SOCIAL LIFE 13 hostess before recognizing anyone else who may be present. It is a mark of ill-breeding among the guests if the mother and daughter are left standing alone at the door; but when others crowd about them you may pass on into the room where refreshments are being served, and may finally slip away without good-byes. Even this apparent rudeness has its reason in a nicety of feeling, and the present-day function is all the pleas- anter for not being broken up by the alarm of the first retiring guest's expression of thanks. My lady is now grown up, and Is invited to all the entertainments given by her mother's friends; and of course she knows that to get pleasure from social intercourse with men and women she must be dominated by the social feeling — the desire and determination to be happy in things as they come, rather than to set her heart in certain directions and strive to bend the world that way. She is, therefore, sweet-tempered and smiling on all occasions, witty only when her sharpness is complimentary, with eyes and cars and heart open to other people's charms, and deaf and blind to those unpleasantnesses which are sure to occur in her presence from time to time. LUNCHEONS, DINNERS AND WEDDINGS Luncheons and Breakfasts After nibbling at all the gayeties in turn, my lady finds that nothing is more real pleasure than a luncheon. 14 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS It may be a formal affair in honor of some visiting lady —men and luncheons rarely go together — or just a small gathering of friends to chat over a dainty dish - for which the hostess is famed in her admiring circle. In either case wines are going. out of style, and effervescent waters are more and more used in their place. All one's artistic taste may be used in decorating the luncheon table, as it belongs more individually to the hostess than that for the soberer dinner; and though fashion declares favors out of grace just now, it is no offense against good form to have at each place some trifle which by its pleasant humor will add to the merriment of the party. In fact, conventionality has never got a good grip on the luncheon; and though engraved cards are some- times used and elaborate courses follow each other on the dainty table, nobody wants to be stiff, and any agreeable innovation on the part of the hostess is sure to be appreciated. When luncheon is announced the hostess leads the way to the dining room without formality, and seats her guests, and if she is wise she has thought out the matter of congenial neighbors with as much care as for a dinner; or she may find place cards convenient, and they are entirely correct. The hour for luncheon is usually half after 1, the matter of time being its chief distinction from a -breakfast, as the -latter is served at noon ; though another point -of difference is that while luncheons are frequently given without any more particular meaning SOCIAL LIFE i5 than the enjoyment, breakfasts come after certain ceremonies or occasions, as for instance, a wedding breakfast or a hunt breakfast. Formal Dinners Dinners are the weightiest of all entertainment, from every point of view, and despite the present movement toward simplicity of food, the courses remain as many and as elaborate as the hostess dares under- take, but she must surely not dare more than she can carry through. People who give many dinners keep on hand engraved invitation cards, into which the name and date are written. These are sent out about two weeks in advance, or earlier if the guest is apt to be very much engaged. Every member of the household who is to be present at the table should be in the drawing room to greet the arriving guests; and guests should avoid with equal care a too early and a tardy arrival. The dinner hour varies from half after G to 8 o'clock. The formal practice of having a servant present to each man guest a salver from which he takes an envel- ope addressed to himself containing on the card the name of his partner for dinner, is obviated at most home dinners by more original and often entertaining devices. The host with the chief lady guest passes to the farther end of the dining room, the other couples follow more or less formally, the hostess coming last with the man she wishes to honor. 16 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS It is quite within the bounds of good taste for the table to be lavish witji silver, fine linen and flowers, but there must be no useless pieces ; everything must fill a need, and the tout ensemble must have the appear- ance of being planned for the convenience and delight of the guests and not for vulgar display of wealth. The lighting must be so arranged as to throw nobody into a disagreeable or unbecoming shadow, and the decorations should not be high enough to obstruct the view between any two persons. The forks are used as they come, beginning with the outermost one. If one wishes to decline wine, it is done by a quiet word or gesture to the servant. It is correct in these sensible times to enjoy the goodly feast set before you, keeping your enjoy- ment within bounds, and doing your part toward the dinner talk. The hostess gives the sign to rise and the men stand until the ladies have passed out, then return to the table for wine and cigars, while coffee is served in the drawing room. If one woman is specially honored by the dinner, she is the first to leave, about an hour after the men have returned to the drawing room; and it need hardly be mentioned that any entertainment where one has been feasted in a particularly reserved seat and one of an exclusively chosen party demands good-byes and a pleasant word of appreciation to the hostess. Xo slipping away after a dinner, luncheon or breakfast. SOCIAL LIFE 17 Weddings One morning in May after my lady has been out some two years, the postman leaves at the door of a certain house a large thick white envelope, sealed and bearing a two-cent stamp. Mrs. Bennett opens it at the tete-a-tete breakfast and hands it to her husband, with the comment that she knew it could not be put off much longer, Bess was too pretty, and Mr. Bennett reads in Old English engraved letters: Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Rogers Graham request the honor of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett's presence at the marriage of their daughter Elizabeth Martin and Mr. Thomas Mason on Wednesday, June the eighth at twelve o'clock Grace Church "May weddings are unluck} r ," his wife adds, "I am glad they put it well into June." Presents begin to pour into the Graham house, and my lady, being trained in gentle manners from her babyhood, arranges them to be looked at; and when she takes off the cards makes a note on each one of just which gift it accompanied, lest she forget before she is well accustomed to the many new possessions. In her note of thanks to each friend she mentions the article 18 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS specifically, thus showing that she is not careless of it nor of the giver; All the shopping and sewing is finished a week before the wedding day, and my lady devotes the time, the prospective groom being considerate on this point, to her parents and brothers. She has many things to arrange, however; she asks certain girl friends to be her attendants, the dearest of all the maid (sometimes matron) of honor, and plans with them their gowns, remembering to select fabric and style suitable for other occasions later on, in case the girls be not well-to-do. After the wedding there is a reception at the home of the bride's parents, and so quietly have the plans been laid that while the guests are enjoying the lunch- eon at the small tables scattered * through three rooms, somebody laughingly calls out that the young couple is stealing into a carriage to slip off to the train. Then there is a merry scramble to the front door, and the traditional rice and old shoes are thrown after the already speeding carriage. The shoe custom has its meaning, so ^ays one authority at least, in the idea that the young husband with such a weapon may enforce the obedience promised at the altar. The honeymoon is spent at the country house of some friend, or on a house- boat, and after the four weeks a little trip across the waters is much favored in the smart set. Shortly after the wedding a call is due the bride's mother from each one who received an invitation, and the bride must also be called on as soon as she has returned and is settled down. SOCIAL LIFE 19 The next years bring a continuation of the gayeties of young ladyhood. It is not strictly good form for a young matron to chaperon girls no younger or less experienced than herself; neither she nor her husband may be invited alone to any function where both men and women are to be present, nor may one accept an invitation which the other declines, unless there is some unusual and very good reason, in which case the wife would go with her mother, or chaperoned like an unmarried woman. In Bereavement As life goes on, sorrows as well as joys come to my lady. Mr. Bennett, a family friend, dies, and flowers are sent to the house, no longer great set for jus, nor exclusively white and purple blossoms, but long- stemmed flowers of any color, tied with white satin ribbons. My lady calls on Mrs. Bennett, and though she does not see her, leaves a note expressing in a few simple words her affection and sympathy. The only possible comfort one can give in time of bereavement is the assurance that the sorrow is shared by all the circle of friends. It is not the time for a sermon but for words of human love. Where the number of letters of condolence is too large to be answered with personal notes, it is sometimes the custom of the mourning family to issue small black-bordered cards, engraved with a few lines of appreciation.. 20 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Wedding Anniversaries The first wedding anniversaries are celebrated with merrymakings of any kind that may be suitable. Friends shower the couple with tin, wooden and glass things in their proper turn; but when the silver wedding comes around eve^body is apt to have grown soberer. There is less frolicking, and more serious rejoicing; and as silver is of greater value than tin and wood, it is good form only for relatives and close friends to make gifts at this celebration. Happy is my lady in having her mother still beside her at the silver wedding; and when fifty years have passed since that June marriage day, and the golden wedding cards go out to the narrowing circle of old- time friends, thrice blessed is she because of the sons and daughters to the third generation gathered about her chair. The cards are engraved in gold, and bear the names of the one-time boy and girl, with the date of their marriage, above the invitation to the reception. In the lower left corner appear the words No presents ; for indeed my lady feels that she has had her share of the material things of earth, and that nothing can add one jot to the joy of seeing about her the faces of those she loves. She smiles serenely at the great cup her sons and grandsons bring to the white-haired lovers ; and says, as she strokes the head of the boy at her knee : "It is beautiful, but it is not purer gold than I have had in my life since I saw the curls of my first baby — your grandmother, my dear." SOCIAL LIFE 21 And thus we may well leave her ; caressing the soft gplden hair of the youngest of her blood, her other hand clasped in that one which has led her tenderly and well from a blossoming maidenhood into the per- fect flower of a gracious and beauteous old age. DINNERS DINNERS A DAINTY JUNE DINNER By Anne Warner "And little recks to find the way to heaven By doing deeds of hospitality." — Shakespeare. COMMON sense and a little experience soon enable one who so wills it to be an easy, if unpretentious, dispenser of many forms of entertainment in a home — to become "given to hospitality." A dinner, however, should have something of a ceremonious char- acter ; the name carries with it certain obligations- and dignities. The true gourmet insists that at this meal, at least, the napery, the lights, the service, the materials and the cooking of them shall be the best to be obtained, circumstances considered, for the gourmet is also a phil- osopher, xi wise woman always endeavors to suit her menu to the season, and it is easy indeed to tempt the early summer appetite. Moderation is the golden rule of dinner giving, and quality, not quantity, is what pleases; overcrowding dishes is a mistake common to beginners, yet variety we all desire. With cold storage, quick transportation, kiln drying, modern canning and the hothouse, almost every delicacy may be had the year round — if the purse is long — but fortunately this con- dition of things does not take the keen edge of delight from the first native-grown asparagus or strawberries 26 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS or early peas, home garden tomatoes or new potatoes. All through the spring, one good thing swiftly follows another, and the peculiar pleasure one has in fish, flesh and vegetahles comes from their absolute freshness. It seems to me that the labor of making sure that supplies are fresh is effort well expended. While upholding the dignity of the dinner table, I also believe in a degree of independence concerning certain accepted rules, latitude enough to allow every guest and every "peculiar" member of the family to enjoy himself to the full. I have lately read that "a hostess should never risk her reputation by serving butter at dinner' — and I still serve it! When tempted to leave off the butter plates I remember a certain holiday long ago when we were all bidden to a neigh- bors to dine. The children sat at a separate table, as small boys abounded in both families. Butter not being forthcoming, my youngest brother, after a brief consultation with the next older, left the festive board, ran home and returned with a pound roll of the desired lubricant, which his favored table proceeded to enjoy in all sobriety and innocence. I have often seen men at buttcrless dinners whom I know would have gladly run a mile to supply the deficiency, so why,' in all conscience, not offer butter to take or leave? For those to whom it seems as out of place at dinner as pie at breakfast — a gastronomic crime — it is well to instruct the cook to roll the biscuit dough very thin; cut it into strips and roll these on the board till even arid Well rounded ; brush with softened butter and : braid or twist. Cut into DINNERS 27 finger-lengths and pinch the ends together. The pocket- book shape makes an excellent dinner roll because of the generous piece of butter which can be put between the "flaps" before raising. For the following dinner the table, covered with a fine cloth, was adorned further with a Benares brass tray twelve inches square, the center containing a cir- cular mound of wet moss filled with beautiful pansy blossoms of all colors. The tray was set cornerwise on a round centerpiece richly embroidered in yellow. Four antique brass candlesticks, holding candles with large fluffy yellow silk shades, stood at equal distances about the centerpiece. Above the table was suspended a bell- shaped piece of perforated brass — rescued from a curio shop — fitted with electric bulbs and having a deep fringe of tiny gilt-lined glass beads. This arrangement cast a soft and pleasant light, upon which the success of all decoration so largely depends. Beside each plate was placed a small Benares tray holding a tall straight glass ornamented in gold. At the fourth course the glasses were half filled with shaved ice, and a maple punch made from an old and much prized family recipe was served in them. The proportions for this are one glass of water, one glass of Jamaica rum, three-quarters glass of strained lemon juice and one-half glass of maple syrup. Bottle and keep on ice. In serving dilute to taste with table or iced water. The small dishes on the table were odd pieces of brass, lined with a lettuce leaf, a dainty bit of lace work or a glass saucer, as the case called for. This decorative scheme was used later 28 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS for a luncheon, and most effective it proved to be on a bare table. Scattered pansies took the place of the candlesticks, one of my "notions" being never — with malice aforethought — to use artificial light when I can have God's sunshine. In the luncheon menu a suitable course was substituted for the roast and the bouillon was replaced by French strawberries, as the day was warm. French Strawberries — Fill punch cups one-third full of very ripe red berries, sliced; add a tablespoon of granulated sugar to each cup and fill three-quarters full with strained orange juice. Stir gently to dissolve sugar and set the cups into a pan of cracked ice till served. When these simple ingredients are first put together the combination of color is really dreadful to contemplate, so give the mixture at least three hours to ripen and beautify. Valencia oranges are the most satisfactory for this use at this time of year. MENU Chicken bouillon Soup balls Pulled bread Soft shell crabs Sauce tartare Rolls Scotch eggs Olives Bechamel sauce Sirloin roast Potato puff Savory carrots Spring salad Cheese (in good company) Angel parfait Marrons in coffee sauce -: .' . : ..Sponge cake ■ " Salted pecans ' Black -'colfVe '■'" DINNERS 29 There is a chicken bouillon prepared for invalids, which comes in half-pint cans. It is better than any I have been able to make for well people. Heat it and add just before serving the SoUp Balls — Chop the white meat of a chicken very fine and season highly with salt, pepper, onion juice and a little thyme or curry ; add enough yolk of egg to bind together. Roll into very small balls, shake in a plate of flour till covered and poach in boiling water. You will find the pulled bread in its perfection at the baker's. Have the crabs dressed at the market, but look them over carefully and wash before cooking. Dry them well, season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour and saute on both sides. Serve on a hot platter garnished with lemon, and pass Sauce Tartare — Stir into a cup of mayonnaise, two small sweet-pickled cucumbers, three olives and a handful of watercress chopped fine; a few capers and a little onion juice. If you live in that happy valley where you can get a fresh shad for this course, by all means substitute it. Broil it, garnish with quarters of lemon and with the roe, parboiled and boiled brown ; rub with 1 mtter frequently while over the fire. Many like shad spread with maitre d'hote 1 butter — the best of butter, lemon and chopped parsley mixed. To many more this fish is synonymous with bones, their natural inheritance ; but let us eat them as they are with thank- ful hearts, hoping for the day when the scientists will 3 o THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS present us with boneless shad as they have with seedless oranges. It has been demonstrated that shad can be boned, with patience, practice, know how and a small sharp knife ; the writer has yet to see a shad boned that is not a fish spoiled. Scotch Eggs — Cook six eggs hard and at the same time keep them tender by leaving in hot water just below the boiling point for one-half hour; cool and remove the shells. Cook to a paste one-third of a cupful of bread crumbs in one-third of a cupful of milk and add one cupful of deviled ham and one raw egg. Cover the eggs with the mixture, roll in crumbs and fry brown in hot fat. Cut in halves lengthwise and send to table on a bed of parsley and garnish with bacon cooked in the manner given below: Slice as thin as possible. Hold the bacon, rind down, and do not try to cut through it 1 i 11 you have the required number of slices, then shave U all at one time from the rind. Separate the slice* nnd lay on a fine wire broiler, put over a pan and place in a hot oven till the bacon is transparent. Your "John Anderson" may dote on carving; he may have respect for the symmetry of your table ap- pointments.; he ma}' be grace and skill combined and personified; if so, I have no. suggestions to offer anent the serving of a roast. We have it carved, at the latest possible moment, and set before the host to be distrib- uted with pleasure to all, more especially perhaps to the host and his opposite. The necessary cutting can be done in . the kitchen without greatly changing the appearance of the dish. DINNERS 31 v Potato Puff — Soak old potatoes for several hours and boil in salted water. To two cups of potato mashed or put through a ricer add two tablespoons of butter, one teaspoon of salt and a little white pepper; fold in the whites of two eggs whipped stiff. Bake in a but- tered dish. Or dare to serve that almost unheard-of dainty, plain, well-boiled potatoes — Bermudas — and send round a gravy made in the old-fashioned way in the roasting pan. Is there anything much better? Savory Carrots — Scrape, then cut new carrots into straws. Cook tender in salted water and drain dry. Season with salt, pepper and a little onion juice and return to the kettle with a generous piece of butter and shake till hot and glazed. Pile on a dish in pyramid form, add a cup of fresh green peas well seasoned and a sprinkling of chopped parsley. Simple and apparently very acceptable individual salads of lettuce hearts, sprinkled with celery seed and glazed with French dressing, came next, Roquefort cheese in a dish with a cover was passed at the same time "for them as wanted it"; also cream cheese and white bar-le-duc, with toasted wafers and unsalted butter, a delightful combination. Angel Parfait (M Ronald) — Whip whites of three eggs to a stiff froth. Put half a cupful of sugar and same of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then cook slowly, without touching, till a little dropped into cold water will form a ball when rolled between the fingers. Pour three tablespoonfuls of the boiling hot syrup slowly onto the 32 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS whipped whites, beating constantly. Add a teaspoonful of noyan, and when cold, a pint of cream, whipped stiff. Mold and pack in a form (with a flat top) for four hours. Vanilla mousse can be used as the base of the dessert, if preferred. Matrons in Coffee Sauce — Heat in a saucepan one- half a cupful of black coffee and one-quarter cupful of thick cream;, thicken with the yolks of two eggs and two teaspoons of sugar beaten together. Drain bran- died marrons, cut in halves if very large, and add to the sauce while hot, but set away to get cold before either pouring over the parfait or passing with it. Eat with fresh homemade sponge cake. I experimented with a bottle of noisettes in marasquin as a sauce for a parfait with great success not long ago, but at this season the use of all such fol-de-rols presupposes that you have had strawberries for breakfast and luncheon, and cra^e "the spice of life." AN ABBREVIATED DINNER By Bee Practical Whether the majority of people have wearied of "china dinners" or simply crave change, the dinner of a few courses is certainly "in." A roast is looked upon as an intrusion; even the sweet is getting lighter, and moderation reigns. The funny man says that present methods in cookery have brought it about that many would rather cook than eat — by making it more fun DINNERS 33 to cook and less fun to eat! I hope his wife will invite him and a few of his cronies to try the following menu: Tomatoes en surprise Fillets of flounder stuffed Savory crusts Cucumbers Potatoes Duck Orange smack Olives Eolls Turquoise salad Toasted wafers Baked Alaskas Crystallized pineapple and ginger Orange curacoa This was recently served at a table with unique decorations. A large globe of Japanese goldfish rested on a circular mirror mat, the latter surrounded by a full border of maidenhair fern. By the way, keep this fern either submerged, or well sprinkled with water, and in a cool place, till the last possible moment, before arranging. Abnormal in form and beautiful in color were some of the strange little water jewels; rare mother-of-pearl fringe-tails, bright gold lace and fan- tails, comets and shining black telescopes. The flashes from their continuous motion made a centerpiece which vied in brillianc}' and oriental effect with the candle shades of iridescent beads which ornamented the candles at the corners of the table. The shades were strung of beads of different colors and sizes and had a fringe of the same. Fastened on to wire frames they well repay the trouble of making, as they are not perishable. 34 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS At each place was a small green jardiniere holding a pot of growing ferns, queer and unusual varieties being selected. Upright in the foliage appeared a miniature bamboo rod with a line attached, from which dangled a realistic goldfish (caught at the caterer's) and made to do duty as a name card. Just before the finger 1 tow Is were set on, two or three magic flowers were dropped into each. These blossom "while you wait" and can be purchased at any Japanese store. For the first dish, if you will go yourself to a hot- house for the tomatoes, you may be able to get them with the pretty green calyx left on each, to make a handle to the slice you cut from the stem end for a cover. Otherwise insert a large clove, or an apple stem, or even a wooden toothpick wound with ribbon, to serve the purpose. Peel the tomatoes and ice them after taking out the seeds. Mix the pulp with small, choice oysters or clams, season with equal parts of chili sauce and catsup, and add horse-radish, paprika and lemon juice to taste. Fill the tomatoes, put on the covers and serve in glass sauce dishes containing shaved ice. Eat cup and all. Have the fillets cut from small fish ; they are more delicate. Wash, dry, roll in seasoned flour and put a layer in a buttered roasting pan. Make a stuffing by mixing thoroughly half a tablespoon of flour, two of butter, yolks of two eggs, a teaspoon of salt, saltspoon of white pepper and a dash of red, and the following herbs chopped very fine : one teaspoon each of onions and parsley, two tablespoons of celery and a quarter of a DINNER 35 can of French mushrooms. Spread a layer over each iillet and cover with another fillet. Protect with a buttered paper and bake in a hot oven twelve or fifteen minutes, liemove the paper, drain the remaining mushrooms, add them to the fish and cook three min- utes more. Serve very hot and squeeze over them a quarter of a lemon and arrange the buttons around. Cut the tops from small rolls and remove the soil: inside, for the crusts; butter and brown in the oven. Make a rich white sauce, using asparagus liquor and cream for wetting. Add two cups of asparagus tips and one of peas, and fill the shells. Prepare the cucumbers as usual; dry and season with a dressing made the same as French dressing, substituting thick cream in place of oil (a new wrinkle), and sprinkle the whole with chopped chives. Let the potatoes be of the Saratoga order, though the accommo- dating tuber may be contorted and convoluted by novelty cutters, or beguiled into any admired shape. Serve half a duck breast to a person, and have enough for a second helping. When partly roasted, baste with a little Madeira and cook until the blood is out, but not the juice. There are some who profess to like their duck "run through the oven/' but they are the minority. The side dish with this course is made by slicing sour oranges and sprinkling them with a mixture of Maraschino, brandy and orange bitters. Apple sauce, in quarters or sifted — hot or cold — is always acceptable with duck, and olive sauce is relished by many. 36 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS The turquoise salad — so it is called at a world- renowned hostelry — was evidently named by the rule of contraries. We rechristened it coral salad. The in- gredients are shredded celery, bleached romaine and pimentoes cut in long, slender pieces; the proportion of celery being somewhat greater than the other two. Romaine is not always to be had, but lettuce is ever with us. The dressing is mayonnaise and — between us — the best hotel dressing never equals the homemade product. Each plate holds an added tidbit made of a crisp, tender stalk of celery selected from those growing just outside the heart. The concave side of the stalk is heai^ed with cream cheese, seasoned, moistened with a little cream or dressing, and mixed with chopped walnut meats. This novel garnish is eaten from the fingers as if the celery were plain, and the whole combination is most delicious — if the inventor was color blind! A touch of red can be put in the cheese if desired. Of the tantalizing sort is the dessert, the kind that makes one resolve to find opportunity to try her hand at it without delay. Yet it is, perhaps, too difficult for an amateur to undertake. Fill small pyramid molds with French ice cream. Always a solid, fine-grained cream, for this purpose it should have been made still more solid by an additional number of egg yolks. Put the molds into a freezing box or into a pail. Seal 1lie joints of the pail tightly with butter and bury in ice and salt. Molds packed in this way require to stand longer than those which come in direct contact with the freezing mixture, and these must be veritable DINNERS 37 Alaskas for coldness. Prepare discs of sponge cake the size of the flat surface of the molds and three-quarters of an inch thick, and set at some distance apart on a hardwood board covered with waxed paper. Make a meringue, allowing one-quarter cup of powdered sugar and a sprinkle of salt to each egg white; beat till smooth and firm enough to hold its shape. Unmold the cones of cream with great care, set the base of each on to a circle of cake, coat instanter with a covering of meringue and color slightly on the top slide of a piping hot open; or, far better, brown separately and evenly with a salamander iron. The Alaskas are usually large enough to cut in halves at the table, making two portions. Savarin said: "The discovery of a new dish doe-' more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a planet." But if there are "nerves" in the kitchen, either when you are there or not, serve the following older delicacy: Line a melon mold with a thin layer of pistachio ice cream; nearly fill the center with French cream (which is yellow), leaving a small space in the center of this to be filled with pignolias mixed with barely enough cream to bind them together. Repack in ice and salt to ripen. Thickly strew the surface of the melon when unmolded with the same nuts — or almonds — browned and chopped, to simulate a rind. Trim plate with maidenhair. For orange ouracoa, thoroughly clean the rind, then make cups of tough-skinned oranges by cutting in halves crosswise and turning the peel backward. Set 38 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS pulp side down on a small plate containing a coffee spoon, and serve one to each individual. Said individ- uals help themselves to a lump or two of loaf sugar and a tablespoon of brandy, when these are passed, and the host then starts a tiny alcohol lamp and matches round the table to light the brew. A little manipula- tion with the spoon extracts the essential oil from the peel while the liquor is burning away, and a seasoning of mace and cinnamon may be added during this process if it is considered an improvement. The remain- ing liquid is sipped from the spoon when the flame has subsided; if preferred, it may be poured into a cordial glass of fine ice, or be added to the black coffee. Some cherish the illusion that this is the Olympian nectar, and others — hold a different opinion; but whichever view one takes, 'tis an excellent digester and a very pretty after-dinner play thing. A COMPANY DINNER By Anne Warner Menu cards are no longer used on private tables. Place cards, either perfectly plain or beautifully dec- orated for souvenirs, each bearing the name of a guest, may be put at the side of the plates. They are useful in indicating the seat which each member of the party is to occupy. If wine or mineral water is to be served and a cooler is not at hand, put the bottles in a pail with crushed ice and a little rock salt, and cover with a DINNERS piece of carpet. Submerge the body of the bottles only. This precaution will do a way with the necessity of rinsing the salt water from about the corks, sometimes a difficult task. It is well to have a doily wrapped round the bottle for convenience in serving, unless the host objects when it covers a label dated B. C. On this dinner table two Dresden candelabra, holding groups of candles with semi-transparent painted shades, stood together, high in the center. The table was covered with a mass of pink June roses mixed with foliage, leaving only enough space around the edge to hold plates, glasses and other necessaries. The roses shaded from dark pink ones in tin; center to pale pink at the edge, and the arrangement caused much enthu- siasm (and a great dearth in the garden). The stems were cut short and stuck into wet sand in flat tins, which held them firmly in place and kept them fresh. The light of the room was concentrated upon the table, making it the center of attraction, as it should be. The dessert plates and after-dinner coffee cups were Dresden china. MENU Clams Radishes Sandwiches Consomme royale Olives Wafers Brook trout Cresses Bolls Saddle of lamb Mint sauce Asparagus Potato apples Currant jelly Strawberry punch Summer salad Cheese balls 4 o THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Sandwiches Prune souffle Brandy sauce Figs in cordial Salted almonds Black coffee Serve the clams on the shells in deep plates of cracked ice, with a radish in the center of each dish. Leave a bit of the green stem, cut and turn back five strips of the red peel of the radishes. Mix a little horse-radish with butter for the filling of the sand- wiches and cut in any pretty shape. The consomme should be clarified till brilliant. For the custard beat two eggs moderately, add two tablespoonfuls of milk and season with pepper and salt. Butter a large flat pan, set it in another one containing hot water and bake very slowly till set. It should not even brown on top. When the soup is in the tureen, cut the custards into forms with a tiny fancy cutter, without first removing from the pan, and add carefully to the consomme. If the annual trouting fever "strikes" one of your family, then is the time to give this dinner; but if th<' attack comes inconveniently, do the next best thing. What you want is fresh brook trout. Almost all hotels and some markets have chances to buy these of "lone fishermen," and will do you the favor (and it is a favor) of getting them for you. When the trout are dressed, dry thoroughly with a soft cloth and sprinkle inside with a little pepper (that is what my fisherman says!). Roll in Indian meal and saute in hot salt pork fat. DINNERS 41 Serve in a border of watercresses and do not spoil with other relishes or sauces. Have the saddle well done and carved in long thin slices parallel with the bone, if the lamb is heavy, or across and serve the ribs if very small. Use the tender tips of mint only, for the sauce. Stand for an hour or so in about half a cup of mild vinegar mixed with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Wash the asparagus care- fully and tie into bundles. (Ait from the tough end of the stalks enough to make them of uniform length and boil in salted water till tender, but not limp. Put on buttered toast, cut and pull off the strings and season with salt ami pepper and melted butter. Use ;in asparagus fork for serving. Prune Souffle — Wash one-half pound of sweet prunes ; soak over night, cook soft, remove the stones and chop fine. Whip the whites of four eggs stiff; gradually adding one-half a cupful of powdered sugar and a pinch of cream of tartar. Fold lightly into the prunes and bake about twenty minutes in a buttered pudding dish. Serve either with whipped cream sweetened and flavored and the figs in cordial, or with a foamy brandy sauce. It is better hot. If you have no holder for the pudding dish it can be made more presentable by folding a large napkin cornerwise and pinning (invisibly) around the dish and setting on a pretty plate. Potato Apples — Prepare a croquette mixture, form into small balls and roll in eggs and crumbs. Flatten slightly and put a clove in one side for the eye; make 42 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS a little depression in the opposite side and stick in it an apple stem and fry. By shaping differently you can have "pears," if you like. Strawberry Punch — Boil a quart of water and two and one-half cupfuls of sugar for about ten minutes, add one cupful and a quarter of strawberry juice, and cool. Before freezing add half a cupful of Maraschino and it* will then not freeze hard. Serve in cups. Summer Salad — Select six fresh cucumbers all the same size. Pare, cut in halves lengthwise, scoop out the centers and lay in water till wanted. Dry and fill with a mixture of sweetbreads and peas, dressed with mayonnaise. Set on a green lettuce leaf on individual plates. Serve with dainty plain bread and butter sandwiches and Cheese Balls — Mix thoroughly a cup and a half of grated cheese, a little salt and pepper and the whites of three eggs, beaten stiff. Shape into little rolls, cover with bread dust, fry in deep fat and drain on blotting paper. The dessert for this month is strawberries, if you can get them in their perfection ; but market straw- berries are so seldom anything but a "delusion and a snare!" If you use them, substitute some other fruit juice in the punch. The black coffee may be made over an alcohol lamp, at table, or in a French drip coffee pot ; or better still, be served to the guests after they have left the dining room. DINNERS 43 THE HARVEST HOME By Anne Warner That is what we call it-— this dinner that ends our autumn holiday. The garnerings of the outing are pure air, fresh odors and pleasant sights, relaxed nerves, sweetened tempers, rested !><>dies — and appetites. The capsheaf is the harvest home. The one described here is one of a number that have been enjoyed by a fortu- nate few at the termination of extended annual drives through the Berkshire hills. It is an unwritten law of the party that the dinner, whether given at the home of the genial host of these pleasure trips, or at the country house of one of his guests, shall be celebrated in the open air: so, out in the indefinable atmosphere of this season, before the dreamy hush of autumn becomes oppressive, while the hazy aii- contains no dampness and the chill of evening brings nothing hut a feeling of exhilaration, the little parting feast of good things is spread. That is to say, sometime* — but tell it not to a native of New England without this word of reservation. Truly our perfect October day is bright and beautiful as a rainbow, but alas, as brief and fugitive; therefore, the stay-at-home, combining a knowledge of this fact with that of the unreliability of men and horses, served this particular dinner on the large hospitable veranda — thus keeping within the letter of the law — and was justified when the wayfarers appeared two hours later than schedule 44 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS time, with an early hunter's moon sulking behind a cloud. Across the one end of the veranda where possibly the outside world might peep in, she put a close row of small evergreen trees, making an effective screen and background; while, arranged in corners, envelop- ing pillars, hanging from every available cornice and ornament, "October's crimson banners flew." A flam- ing maple, whose changing foliage had been watched for days, contributed largely, and with long branches of richly-tinted, shining oak leaves and a touch of the yellow and brown of chestnut leaves and burs, combined to make a place beautiful to the eye; while hidden among these, bunches of wild grapes still on the vines, added their ineffable but unmistakable incense, to the gratification of another sense. The center of the table held a large loosely-woven grass basket, tipped on its side and pouring forth evi- dence of the maturity and bounty of the "fall o' the year." Clusters of purple Concord grapes, golden-green Niagaras and tiny pink Delawares blended their bloom and color in the profusion that tumbled out among the soft tufts of a tangle of feathery clematis vine, which started under the basket and ran with riotous and apparently unstudied freedom over the cloth. Nothing of a hothouse growth may come to these feasts, if you please — consistency, thou art a jewel ! The place cards were rolls of thin birch bark which curled round the extreme ends of the clematis. When "night threw her mantle o'er the skies and pinned it DINNERS 45 with a star," the table was lighted by the twinkling beams from many unshaded bayberry candles. These candles, by the way, are made by an old resident back in the country on Long Island and are the result of a mysterious process of extracting the wax from bay- berries. They arc green in color and give out a faint odor favorable to reminiscence. And now to the baser attractions of the menu. Clams Corn soup Croutons Smelts Sauce tartare Tomatoes Rolls Saddle venison Jelly sauce Sweet potatoes Brussels sprouts Boiled chestnuts Roman punch Broiled quail Hominy crescents October salad Grandmother's pudding Snowdrift sauce Fig dainty Grapes Cheese and wafers Coffee At each cover the clams radiated from the conven- tional lemon half, but the latter rested within a little circle of the choicest of the late flowering nasturtiums that the garden afforded. The sandwiches served with them were made of thin buttered rounds of white bread, with a filling of spicy nasturtium petals and very young leaves. The condiments were green pepper sauce — and hunger. 46 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Outspoken members of the family go so far as to say that they know with absolute certainty what soup will invariably be offered during the corn season, if the stay-at-home has control of the menu. It seems so excellent to her that she offers the recipe here. Com Soup — One pint of corn pulp, the kernels having been slashed with a sharp knife and the corn scraped from the cob. Three pints of boiling water, one of rich milk, one cup of white stock, three table- spoons of butter, one tablespoon of flour; yolks of two eggs, pepper, salt and a few drops of onion juice. Cook the cobs in the water twenty minutes; remove them, add corn pulp and boil the same length of time; rub through a colander — nearly all should pass through if the corn has been properly prepared. Season, cover and keep hot. Make a smooth white sauce of the butter, flour and stock in the regular way; add to the soup and boil up together. Heat the milk in another saucepan, pour upon the beaten yolks and cook one minute; season, stir both parts together, and when in the tureen garnish with whipped cream "stars." Serve with hot buttered croutons. The only drawback to the ordinary use of this soup at dinner is that it is a whole meal in itself ; it needs a "touring" appetite. October is the appointed time to eat green smelts in any case, and to the hill travelers they were doubly acceptable, for, as one of them said: "We haven't had anything in or on the fish line between Cape Cod turkey and trout !*' Fried Swells — Selected smelts were washed, dried, DINNERS 47 sprinkled with salt and pepper, dipped in cream and rolled in very fine bread crumbs. They had been made into rings by gashing diagonally and pinning head and tail together with wooden toothpicks (removed after frying), and were cooked in a wire basket in deep fat. They appeared at table on a round platter cov- ered with a folded napkin, were garnished with parsley, and served with their sauce, tiny rolls, and ripe, meaty, cold tomatoes. In cooking venison, first and foremost it is to be remembered that it should be rather underdone than otherwise. The finest portion is the saddle; next the haunch, which includes one-half the loin ; the third best joint is the neck. Butter a large sheet of writing paper, sprinkle with salt and place over the fat, make a coarse paste and cover the lean part. Boast in a piping hot oven, basting repeatedly. Fifteen minutes before it is done, remove paper and paste, baste with a little butter, and brown. For sauce, heat together one-half cup of either port or claret and the same of clear stock and pour over a small glass of currant jelly. The chestnuts should be hot and well salted, and have been carefully looked over by the cook before boiling; this should not prevent the partaker from looking them over carefully on his own account. The methods of preparing the vegetables for this course were specialties of our colored major-domo. Sweet Potatoes, Southern Sti/Jr — In a large, flat- bottomed saucepan melt two heaping tablespoons of 48 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS butter and one of sugar. Select medium-sized sweet potatoes to pare, cut in two lengthwise and season with salt and pepper. Closely cover the bottom of the kettle with the raw potatoes and put another layer on top. Pour on water to cover the lower layer, cover tightly and place over gentle heat, that the cooking may be slow. When the lower layer is well colored change to the top. By the time both are "dun brown" the water will have evaporated, leaving a very little butter sauce to pour over the potatoes. Chloes Brussels Sprouts — Remove any wilted leaves from the outside and let the sprouts stand a few minutes in cold water strongly salted. Cook uncov- ered till tender, in rapidly boiling water. Drain thor- oughly, then place in a saucepan containing a generous lump of butter, a Chili pepper and some celery salt, and toss till lightly browned. Just before serving remove the pepper and add a dash each of kitchen bou- quet and fine Madeira. It is doubtless disheartening for epicures to be forced to learn that the prince of American game birds, the woodcock, is becoming extinct. These long- billed martyrs had a place in the original menu of this dinuer, which was given before the edict went forth that "it shall be unlawful to buy, sell, or offer for sale, or have in possession for sale, any woodcock or ruifed grouse, commonly called partridge, whenever or wherever the said birds may have been taken or killed." So far, so good, say I! But between the first of October and the first of December we mav still DINNERS 49 regale ourselves upon — "enjoy," if we can — the "poor Bob White" till his turn shall come to be protected. I would go hungry to desperation before I would eat one, and be the indirect cause of stilling a single throat that gives his inspiring call; but one must perforce give up one's whims and notions to others' appetites, and this is a menu and not a sermon. To be sure, I eat other game with relish and avidity — didn't I just say something about consistency? Hominy Crescents are excellent to serve under birds. Put one-half cup of hominy in a double boiler with one-half cup of white stock; soak fifteen minutes, add one and a half cups hot milk and cook half an hour. Then stir in thoroughly one-half teaspoon of salt, one-quarter teaspoon of paprika, a few drops of onion juice and yolks of two eggs. Turn one-half an inch thick into a shallow pan; when cold cut into forms, crumb, egg and fry. October Salad — Pare Spitzenberg apples and cut into cubes; cut up an equal quantity of crisp, tender celery and the same of hickory nut meats. Mix and dress with a mayonnaise and serve in polished, red- cheeked apples which have been hollowed out for the purpose. Set each impromptu dish on a brilliant autumn leaf. Grandmother C/s pudding recipe comes down from the time when the taste and try method was in vogue, and descendants of the originator have ever since been proud to concoct all sizes of it by her elastic rule, unhampered by so much as a spoon or a cup. I give 5 o THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS it with perhaps overmuch elaboration since hearing one vounger branch of the family remark to another branch, with a pessimistic sniff: "What's the nse of giving it to anybody; nobody makes it right, outside of the family !" Buy a stale loaf of bread from the baker — a brick loaf — and since you will not be- able to get it more than a day old, keep it till it reaches the advanced age of three days. The night before you expect to serve the pudding proceed as follows: With a sharp knife slice the bread very thin ("so that you can see through it/' says the pessimist) ; this is imperative Put a layer in the bottom of the pudding dish — and thereby hangs another tale. This dish must be a heavy earthenware or stone crock, glazed inside and of a shape which resembles a flower pot, high and narrow ; I doubt if the pudding can have the proper appearance or flavor made in any other. Prepare the dish for the bread by greasing generously with butter '"about the size of an egg." Add to the first layer a "sprinkling" of sugar, "just a pinch" each of allspice and cinnamon, a "grating" of nutmeg and a "good handful" of im- ported Malaga raisins seeded and cut in halves. Con- tinue in this order till the pudding mold is full, finishing with a layer of bread. Heat a quantity of fresh, rich milk lukewarm ; add a "savor" of salt and enough molasses to color the milk perceptibly, and pour slowly over the bread till by gently pressing the mass you can see the milk. Never stir it. Cover with a plate and leave in a moderately warm place all night. DINNERS 51 It will shrink a little, and in the morning, if it seems dr} r , more prepared milk should be added before baking in an even oven for three or four hours, according to size. Keep it covered with an inverted deep plate for two hours of the time, then replace with a piece of brown paper. The pudding has a tendency to burn and must be carefully watched. Let it stand a few minutes when taken from the oven, with the mold wrapped in a folded cloth which has been wrung out of cold water, then put the serving plate over the top and it will turn out without sticking. It should not be stiff enough to keep the exact shape of the deep mold, but sink to a quivering, sponge-like mound cov- ered with a golden crust. Eat with a hard sauce when hot, and with a hot sauce when cold and equally appe- tizing. This was a favorite Thanksgiving dessert in "ye olden time," and Grandmother's pudding is well worth experimenting with. Its accompaniments are the innovations of younger generations. The snowdrift sauce is a variety of, and, we think, an improvement upon, the regulation hard sauce. Make line lemons into cups by cutting them into halves picket fashion. Remove pulp and shave a bit from the bottom of each half to insure a flat surface. Beat together one-half cup of butter and one cup of powdered sugar until very white and light. The success of the sauce depends upon its long beating. Add one-half teaspoon of vanilla, two tablespoons of brandy and one-half a cup of thick whipped cream, or tho whipped whiti of an egg, if preferred. Cool, heap 52 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS lightly into the lemon cups (Grandmother always wanted a little nutmeg and lemon zest grated over hers ) and serve very cold on small individual plates. Fig Dainty — Wash two pounds of bag figs and stew gently till tender in a little water, the juice of a lemon and half a cup of port. Cool before serving- two on each plate with the sauce. The ripe Gorgonzola brought up the subject of the relative excellence of Italian cheeses, and a member of the party informed us that the experiment had lately been completed of keeping some Parmesan for one hun- dred and fifty years and that the cheese was found to be still delicious and "full of life and power" ; we unanimously voted him guilty of ambiguity, if nothing worse. One last toast was drunk to the drive of the coming year, in — we will call it cider, as that is season- able; with jokes and reminiscences and friendly chaff- ing the guests left the table to gather round an open fire which had been built in the ingle nook of the veranda, while the masculine contingent smpked a peace on earth cigar ; and the dinner became one of the "has beens/' THE WINTER FEAST By B. P. In thinking over the dinners I have given or have assisted in giving, one belonging to the latter class always looms in mv memorv above the others, as being DINNERS 53 the most difficult, and, at the same time the most enjoyable of them all (incongruous combination!) "We were enduring the rigors of a northern "spell of weather," and this, with the difficulties overcome in the struggle to seat twenty-eight persons at one table, had something to do with the impression, and maybe the fact that the dinner gown arrived with the guests was another reason for it. If a body could be planner and designer, personal purchaser and caterer, chief cook, table supervisor and decorator, wine expert and general manager, without being smiling hostess as well, how it would simplify matters. How blest must be that estate when you can summon a chef and say : "Francois, we have twenty- eight dining to-night," and presto, it is done, and well done ! I will come to earth and own that this is not at all the way we did it. We had plenty of help (?) to be sure, of the kind that (at times) one would have been glad to assist in finding the bottom of the Bed sea, or some other equally distant main, but refrained from so doing because they were a little more useful dry than wet. Incompetence, thou dost so prevail ! When the question of' decoration was being dis- cussed in family conclave, the thought of the neces- sary expanse of table linen caused the hostess to exclaim dejectedly: "I don't know but we'll have to resort to ribbon furbelows to help out, if the table does look like a milliner's window ; even that is better than allow- ing a florist to ' hold high carnival." Having duly 54 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS considered the pros and cons of both the practical and the artistic sides of the question, the final plan made us independent of the wiles of the florist, and was, we thought, guiltless of the sin of overembellish- ment; we didnt mind the work. The table was partly prepared early in the day. In due time the florist was to bring the centerpiece, consisting of a mass of deep red Liberty roses, arranged upright on eight or ten-inch stems, in damp moss, on a shallow oblong basket or pan, the dimensions of which we knew. A piece of mousseline de soie, fifteen yards long and full width, and of the exact shade of the roses, was adjusted and pinned in place, as follows: starting from the cen- ter, the mousseline crossed diagonally the space allotted to the flowers; each half, starting diagonally again at the opposite angle, was draped and manipulated across the table and tied into a large, graceful double bow, and its billowy daintiness pulled up here, or pinned down there, till the effect was good ; then each long end started across toward the other side of the table, and the same maneuvers were gone through with ; then diagonally the fourth time, and the last bow — ■ smaller — was made near the end of the opposite side of the table. (Dear me — I wonder if I could do it from this description ! ) It is hardly necessary to add that ample space was left along the sides and at the ends for covers, and that members of the family hap- pened to sit where the necessary overlapping of table- cloths took place under two of the big bows, and the huge Japanese plates filled with fruit which occupied DINNERS 55 the angles opposite them. At the appointed hour, with the "set piece" (if Liberty roses can ever be said to be set, with their dainty heads poised on their slender stems) came quantities of maidenhair ferns, fragrant freesia sprays, clusters of English violets and a few loose roses. Nimble and clever fingers arranged these flowers gracefully and irregularly in and around the bows of shimmering red, with exquisite and novel effect. Neither the florist nor the milliner was unpleas- antly in evidence, but the hand of madame herself was manifest. Each bow-knot covered the base of a candelabrum, whose candles glowed softly through thin cut-silver shades lined with the mousseline. The dinner was served from the butler's pantry on individual plates — the more formal way, but the more convenient for so large a number of guests. MENU Raw oysters Sandwiches Creamed halibut in cucumbers Radishes Terrapin a la Chamberlin Pickled mangoes Fillet of beef Mushroom sauce Spinach balls Potato ensemble Roman punch Squabs on toast Celery Jelly sauce Tomato cup salads Welsh sandwiches Cream a la Grasse Bonbons Fruit Cheese Black coffee 56 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Oysters are excellent bivalves to which to apply the theory that the natural is always the best ; so serve either on their shells on regular oyster plates, or on deep plates filled with cracked ice. Put a tiny shell containing a teaspoonful of horse-radish in the center, where the hinge ends meet. Make delicately thin sand- wiches of Boston brown bread and spread with a mixture of equal parts of finely chopped olives and pimentos or green peppers, blended with a little mayonnaise. Keep fresh by directions given before. Halibut in Cucumbers — Cook the halibut till tender in court bouillon — to two quarts of water add a few slices each of carrot, onion and celery; two or three cloves and peppercorns; a bit each of mace, bay leaf and parsley, a little salt and lemon juice. Drain, and when cool remove skin and bone and pick the fish apart into fine flakes. Make a rich white sauce in the regular way, adding from a quarter to a half teaspoon of curry powder to every two cups of sauce, according to taste. Pare, cut in halves and parboil in bouillon the required number of cucumbers. Scoop out the in- side of each half, till with the creamed fish, cover with prepared crumbs — one-third cup of butter to every cup of dried bread crumbs — and bake about half an hour or less, till the cucumbers are soft, but not till they lose shape. Serve with a lemon point on each plate. Baltimore Terrapin — If those who eat this "insect ,, had to prepare him for his final appearance — terrapin w mid be more plentiful ! Dip a very much alive "dia- mond-back" into hot water and scald till the skin can DINNERS 57 be removed from head and feet by rubbing with a cloth ; and wash — and wash — and wash! Return to the kettle, and when the claws are soft it is boiled sufficiently; it took nearly an hour, if 1 remember, to do ours. Cool and remove the bottom shell first, then cut off the nails and head and take out carefully the gall-sack and sand- bag. Contrary to directions, our fastidious taste im- pelled us to take out also several other suspicious looking bits of internal machinery, leaving the meaty parts, the eggs (accounted a great luxury by epicures), the liver and all the juice. So much we did the day before the feast. Shortly before it is to be eaten place these choice morsels in a stewpan to heat. Make a sauce of the mash 1 and creamed yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs and two tablespoons of tine butter rubbed to a smooth paste and added to a pint of cream, which has been heated in a double boiler; season with cayenne and salt. To this quantity of sauce add one quart of the prepared ter- rapin and simmer for ten minutes — longer will do no harm, dust at the moment of serving pour in two tablespoons of tine Madeira. Serve this dish very hot. There are small metal cups which come for the purpose, but since we were not supplied — not having terrapin often — we used ordinary deep plates, heated. Living in a small city, we had to send far afield for some of our materials. The fillets came from a distant base of supplies and one of them was decidedly "ripe" — but what would you, ye seekers after perfection in an imperfect world? Our fillets were larded, and baked in a very hot oven in the usual way. Half an 58 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS hour before they were done they were covered with long thin pieces cut from peeled bananas. One piece was served on each thick slice of beef, and a ladle of sauce added at the side. Spinach Balls — Pound to a paste in a mortar the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, and rub smooth with the yolk of one raw egg; season with salt, a drop of tabasco and a very little melted butter. Mix with one cup of cold cooked spinach, drained and pressed as dry as pos- sible. Make into small balls, roll in flour and fry in a basket a few at a time. Some of these small-famiJy recipes had to be quadrupled to make enough to go round. Potato Ensemble — Mash and season well a quantity of boiled white potatoes, and to every quart add the beaten yolks of two eggs and two tablespoons of thick cream. Stir over the fire and form into a shapely ring on a greased tin sheet, or pack in a ring mold that opens; brush over with yolk of egg and bake in a slow oven — it should not be browned. To take to table, care- fully slip the potato ring onto a large round entree plate; encircle it with a single row of potato marbles rolled in parsley, and heap the center with sweet potato croquettes. This disli was passed, and the combination of the white and green, yellow and golden brown, was very tempting. The following proportions were adhered to in making the punch, and it was dubbed the "life-saving station" : put in the saucepan over the fire three-quarters of a pound of sugar and three pints of water; boil ten DINNERS 59 minutes and cool. Freeze, and when nearly frozen stir into it quickly the strained juice of lour lemons and two gills of old Jamaica rum. Be sure that the squabs are squabs. Tie into shape with thin slices of bacon over the breasts and roast about twenty minutes, basting with butter; serve on buttered toast, with celery hearts and the simplest form of jelly sauce, made by pouring over a tumbler of currant jelly at the last moment, three tablespoons of hot port wine. Tomato Cups — To one can of tomatoes add one teaspoon eaeh of salt and sugar, a dusting of paprika, two cloves, a bit of bay leaf and a slice of onion. Boil together till the tomato is soft, then add three-quarters of a box of gelatine which has been soaked in one-half a cup of water. Stir till gelatine is dissolved and strain twice or till nearly clear. Pour into ice cold crockery cups (flaring, round -bottomed ones are prettiest) to the depth of half an inch, and leave till the jelly will barely support light-weight inner molds, about half an inch smaller, containing a lump of ice. Aluminum ones are best, but we managed with tin ones — though we "ought to not" — by taking them out as soon as the jelly wis firmly set. If the first gelatine is allowed to get too hard before filling the remaining space between the molds, the cups will separate at this line when turned out. Make the cups a day or so before using and keep in a cold place. Unmold when they are wanted by filling the inner mold with warm water and lifting out. Dip the outer china forms into hot water and turn out the tomato cups. Set each one upon crisp lettuce leaves 60 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS which have had a bath of French dressing; till with a mixture of two-thirds finely cut celery and one-third coarsely-chopped English walnuts and broken hickory nut meats. Combine these ingredients with a generous quantity of mayonnaise, and finish each salad with a cup of mayonnaise cream dressing, put on with a star tube, and drop a turned olive into each, if you like. The salad sandwiches should be long and narrow; make of white bread and fill with tender, selected water- cress, which has been dipped in salted tarragon vinegar, then shaken dry. The snowy cream (invariably Philadelphia, when B. P. is at the helm) had a distinctive taste which delighted and mystified the somewhat jaded appetite. It was simply flavored highly with Fleur d'Orange, this comes from Grasse — one does not June to go there for it ! Serve from the freezer on small, choice plates and scatter a teaspoon of freshly grated cocoanut on top of each mound. "Ant please your Honor," quoth the Peasant, "This same dessert is very pleasant." The fruit was served by the obliging relatives who sat nearest, by the aid of grape scissors and a willing spirit, to all who wished it; cheese and wafers solaced the others, for to many, "a last course at dinner, wanting cheese, is like a pretty woman with only one eye." Leaving men and cigars behind, the hostess led the ladies to the parlors, where clear black coffee was passed, followed by creme de menthe in glasses filled with DINNERS 61 shaved ice, the gentlemen being served in the dining room at the same time. AN INDIAN DINNER By Jeannette Young This is especially appropriate for Thanksgiving. Use a bare polished dining table, or, if that is impos- sible, use a heavy brown linen cover with deep hem. Lay across it two bead-work strips eighteen inches wide, such as come for decorative purposes, placing one length- wise and one crosswise, and under each plate put a doily of canvas and bead work; the candelabra placed at the corners are to have red shades and red candles. The centerpiece is an Indian pottery jar, filled with eagle and peacock feathers. A little bark canoe on either side is filled with red apples. Over the table is stretched a canopy of bandanna silk, in rich reds and tans, held to the ceiling by a wooden war shield and at the four corners by spears. The electric bulbs should be covered with red silk to give the effect of candle and firelight shining over all. There might be a gay blanket "tepee" with three "Indian braves" in brfekskins and blankets, with guitar and mandolins to play through dinner vein! and dreamy music, also a pretty squaw in leggins, brown skirt and beaded jacket to give away souvenirs of bead bags, belts and chains, Indian baskets, moccasins, tiny bows and arrows and little canoes. The china should be the old English ivory and blue 62 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS ware, but the Chinese gray and white go well with this color idea, as well as silver and cut glass. With the gay, picturesque coloring of the scene and the guests in simple gowns, it is a very effective dinner party. The ladies may dress Pilgrim fashion, in simple gray cotton crepe gowns with fichus, dainty cuffs, aprons and caps of white, and buckled shoes, the men in gray or black knee breeches, doublet and hose.' The dinner cards should be of birch bark. Now comes the menu, which is of great interest and impor- tance also. First we serve oyster cocktails, perfectly chilled, then cream of tomato soup with dainty croutons. Baked red snapper or salmon with oyster sauce, potato croquettes, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, saddle of veni- son, scalloped potatoes, roast duck, creamed asparagus, celery, olives, currant jelly, salted nuts, frozen punch, lobster salad, chicken salad, rye sandwiches, cheese straws, Indian suet pudding, brandy sauce, maple ice cream, bonbons, coffee. A HARVEST DINNER By Linda Hull Larned The time was late in September, the occasion a county fair, the place a town in one of the far western states, and the episode a prize dinner table in one of the departments roped off for the exploits of women. But no one in the effete east could ever hope to offer anything quite so attractive, and this particular corner was more besieged by the masculine element than any DINNERS 63 other exhibit on the grounds. Of course, women were there in throngs, i'or in spite of new-fangled notions they arc ever eager to encourage the efforts and applaud the success of those of their own sex who thus honor their especial vocation. Among several displays of dinner table settings, this won the prize, because it was not only extremely unique and deliriously dainty, but because it was appro- priate to the occasion, and exceedingly practical and easy of accomplishment by anyone with one whit of artistic ability. In fact, the fame of this particular episode has gone far afield, for New York and Boston have since endeavored to imitate its simple splendor, until now the "farm dinner" has grown to be quite the fad. The Table Decorations It was an oval, damask covered table, quite large enough to seat twelve comfortably. People in Septem- ber need plenty of elbow room, for they are just in from a summer "all out of doors." The center decora- tion was composed of a promiscuous gathering of the brightest and shiniest of vegetables in season, all massed in artistic confusion. These rested on a bed of autumn leaves, and were capped by a huge pumpkin made into a Janus-faced jack-o'-lantern. The leaves circled them- selves into slim small bottomed figure 8's toward the end of the table, and these end rings were garnished with fruits, while smaller double-faced pumpkin lanterns surmounted their middles. There were four large 64 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS gourd! cucumbers hollowed out into boat shape, and these were also carved into long-drawn, awe-inspiring faces. They were propped up against the pile of veg- etables and formed the corner sentinels to this bulwark of garden produce. Of course the center pumpkin man's body was a box, which raised him above his fellows, and yet its mission was entirely concealed by masses of kale and endive, and both red and green cabbage leaves, which formed the background for the following vegetables: potatoes, small cabbages and cauliflower, both well trimmed, turnips, parsnips, carrots, crooked neck squash, green corn and tomatoes. String beans, yellow egg tomatoes, radishes, brussels sprouts, okra buds and nas- turtium vines formed the buds and tendrils for this autumn banquet. Many of these were cut so as to show only a suggestion of their character, and they were all spick and span clean. The end wreaths held apples, grapes, melons, plums, peaches, pears and an occasional orange. The apples and pears were cut in two the long way, so as to show their seeds and luscious white interiors. In the middle of the fruit mounds, on the outside ends, were two more jack-o'-lanterns, made from scooped-out eggplants, and their dark, reddish purple faces shone with pleasure at the delightful proximity of creamy red and white lady apples and pale green hothouse grapes. Nasturtium blossoms were tucked into every crevice, and their golden yellow petals glittered like flecks of hot sunshine left over from the summer. DINNERS 65 There were corsage bouquets for the women made of deep, rich red dahlias tied with ribbon grass, and for the men boutonnieres of small but perfect sunflowers. The china, glass and Bilver were moderate in tone and quality, so as not to disturb the harmony of this harvest symphony, the glass all fine engraved crystal, and the china the old-fashioned plain, gilt-banded white so much used in our grandmothers' day. The room in which this festive board was laid was in utter darkness, and yet the effect was sufficiently luminous, as from each pumpkin man's face shone rays from the numerous candles or electric lights within, and the cucumber corners and eggplant ends sent forth enough more light to render the occasion one of weird festivity. Of course in these clays of practical education, no county fair is complete without its food demonstrator, therefore this menu bore the hall mark of an expert, for it was delicious, and yet withal economical. The guests were the "personages" who usually descend upon every public gathering in order to give the proper tone to the occasion. This especial festivity was graced by his excellencw, the lieutenant-governor, and his wife, and just a few ordinary mortals, who were, nevertheless, county dignitaries. The entire affair was in charge of a committee of the woman's department, which was ably marshaled by the aforesaid domestic science specialist, and many of the good things they prepared Mere com- posed of the interior of the decorations, while the remainder was of things in season, consequently not 66 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS expensive, thus setting- an example of thrift and econ- omy not to be despised in these days of high-priced provender. The Various Dishes The appetizing beginning was an "autumn canape" — slices of toast of uniform size spread with a paste of mashed cucumber and mayonnaise dressing, profusely sprinkled with mince J green peppers and nasturtium pods. A seasonable soup was "brussels sprouts con- somme." Everyone knows that brussels sprouts are only Lilliputian cabbages, but their delicacy of flavor com- pensates for their diminutiveness. One quart of them were simply boiled in salted water, then drained into the hot consomme. As this particular county was in close proximity to one of our inland seas, "lake trout fillets with Michigan sauce" was the next course. This trout was skinned, boned and cut into small pieces the moment it was caught. It was covered with a marinade of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until the time arrived for it to be cooked; it was then drained, sprinkled with salt and pepper, dredged with corn meal . and sauted in bacon fat until a golden brown all over. It was then served with a spoonful of cold sauce on each fillet, the sauce being mayonnaise dressing mixed with minced capers, cucumbers and tomatoes, and fresh horse-radish grated fine. A dish of fried potato straws wis then passed, and so were tiny sandwiches of brown bread and butter. The piece de resistance which fol- lowed was "roasted ducks," stuffed with mashed potato, DINNERS 67 minced onion fried in bacon fat, and chopped celery. With tin's was served a souffle of eggplant and squash, which was boiled, then mashed and mixed with soft bread crumbs, beaten egg, lemon juice, melted butter, salt and pepper. r l 'his was baked and served in a large silver vegetal tie dish, and with this course was also served a dish of homemade noodles, boiled, drained, seasoned with butter, salt and pepper, and covered with a sprinkling of Italian cheese, finely grated. Also, for the sake of tradition, I suppose, a homely, but excellent disli of green corn on the cob. It was deliciously sweet and tender and the ordinariness of it was completely redeemed by the manner in which it was served. It came in concealed by a peculiar shaped napkin of white linen embroidered in yellow maize designs, and every kernel was scored before sending it to the table, which made it possible to scrape it from the cob with a fork. After this, directly from the field close by, were "steamed fresh mushrooms/' The big ones were baked after being stuffed with the little ones, which had been mixed with salt and pepper and butter. They were then deluged with cream and each one served on its own piece of toast covered with a glass cup. Then a much-needed respite was taken, during which the guests cooled their palates with a muskmelon sherbet. The muskmelons were small ones cut into halves, each being filled with a lemon ice, colored leaf green and garnished with bite of angelica. This cool bit of lusciousness stimulated the palate of the guests sufficiently to enable them to go on with the feast, and 68 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS they were quite ready for the medley of vegetables which was called a "harvest salad." Upon investigation this was found to be composed of small pieces of tomatoes, celery, green peppers and sour apples mixed with French dressing. This was arranged on plates with lettuce leaves. Each one was capped by a tiny mold of cucum- ber jelly and garnished around the edge with yellow egg tomatoes cut into quarters. With this course were hot crackers covered with Young America cheese grated and mixed with butter, vinegar, English mustard and Wiesbaden sauce. The cucumber jelly was made by boiling some more of the cucumber insides with a little onion and parsley, then adding half a box of gelatine dissolved, a little tarragon vinegar, salt and plenty of paprika, to each pint of liquid. The dessert was another descent to the everyday rations of Auld Lang Syne, but everyone, even the most fastidious, ate with gusto one little Golden Pumpkin Pielette These were made after the old New England recipe, but baked in individual tins, then removed and served on white and yellow plates supported by nothing more substantial than a daiinv yellow and white paper doily. In all well-regulated families this would have been the last course, but as this was an extraordinary func- tion the mounds of "peaches and wheat parfait" were greeted as enthusiastically as any that had gone before. These were made of boiled custard mixed with a small quantity of a powdered preparation of wheat, to which DINNERS 69 was added when cold its bulk in whipped and sweetened cream, and a flavoring of peach and almond extract. This was poured into ordinary coffee cups upon halves of peaches, then packed in ice and salt. When served they were sprinkled with powdered sugar and garnished with peach leaves. This entire menu, with the exception of the piece de resistance, was served from the side by the capable 'assistants of the. demonstrator, who were also the "com- mittee." The "judge" was invited to be master of cere- monies, and it was evident that he had had much experience by the skillful manner in which he manipu- lated the ducks. With the tiny cups of French coffee came the call for toasts, and the judge again showed his knowledge of the fitness of things by immediately squelching the facetious guest who demanded that the "demonstrator'' be called upon to give them a "milk toast." ARTISTIC DINNER DECORATIONS By Mary Putnam For a successful geranium dinner, the hostess carried ont a scheme of her own. Down the center of the table extended a long, narrow box, or succession of boxes, of stiff cardboard. Geranium cuttings, each bear- ing large red blossoms and bedded in wet tissue paper, filled the boxes. " The sides of this box arrangement were banked, so to speak, with fine ferns. This was 70 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS done by building up a sand bank, on a paper surface, against the box, and sticking the ferns in the sand. The red of this novel centerpiece was matched in the bill of fare with tomato bisque soup and' the dash of color which maraschino cherries gave to the whipped cream surmounting parfait glasses of chocolate ice. The ice, the cream and the cherries were a symphony in brown, red and white. Everybody was in clover at the dinner with this designation, for it was an engagement dinner, and in the huge round dish on the table were almost clovers enough to hide the blooming fiancee in its pink flores- cence. Radiating from the bouquet were pink ribbons, each ending in a heart, made for the occasion and bearing a highly sentimental motto. The guests tugged at the hearts until the ribbon ends were drawn from out the bouquet, and attached to one ribbon was found a ring. This, of course, betokened the early engage- ment of the girl who drew it. Big clover blossoms and leaves were pinned on the lamp shades, and the cards were decorated with tiny cupids. Strawberry sherbet of a decidedly pink hue was served in tall parfait glasses, topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. For the birthday of a dainty college girl, the sweet pea was chosen as the flower for table decorations, the sweet pea in enchanting profusion. In the center of the table was a tall vase of beautiful favrile glass, con- taining sweet peas and heaped about with bunches of sweet peas in a veritable little mountain, almost three feet in diameter. There were three or four dozens of DINNERS 71 the peas in each bunch. From this fairy structure trailed ribbons, starting with great, luxuriant bows. The guests received dinner favors of stickpins of sweet pea design, pink and white. The prettiest dinner of all was the buttercup. A great bouquet of buttercups shed its glory over the round table and the entire room. The big brass dish which held it was encircled at a distance of about eight inches with a row of smilax, and outside this was a fringe of the flat leaves of the jonquil, all of* the same size, like a conventional pattern. Xarrow ferns might take the place of the jonquil leaves at a later season. At the plates were bunches of jonquils. The candles and the lamp shades were yellow. A CHINESE DINNER By Harriet Quimby An invitation recently sent out by a this season's debutante provoked the keenest of delight among her fc !$? & & $ f-f * * # *f THE MENU CARD WRITTEN BY A CHINAMAN half dozen favored friends, who, after examining the dainty water color sketch of a Chinese belle in gay attire, 72 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS like a gorgeous butterfly poised for a moment on the corner of the card, read: "Will the most beautiful daughter of the Hon. S accept the solicitation of her humble and unimportant friend to join in the gathering of the oriental daughters and partake of the most ancient and blessed blossom feast to which the gods of our fathers have given sanction. On the eighteenth hour of the ninth day of the first month." A Chinese luncheon or dinner suggests more novel decorations than almost any other. It can be given at a cost of fifty cents per plate, or the estimate may easily run up to the fifty-dollar mark. The decorations may be simple and picturesque ; in fact, the gay colors needed to give atmosphere can be purchased for a few cents. For a more substantial repast than a flower feast, chop suey or a pineapple chicken may be added to the menu. If the invitations are for the afternoon, the curtains should be drawn and a few Chinese lanterns — red is the most characteristic color — hung here and there in the dining room, give a mysterious, subdued effect. Chinese incense (sandalwood is the best) can be bought for a few cents. A small dish of charcoal is needed. Upon this lay, kindling wood fashion, a few squares of the sandalwood. After a moment's contact with trie coal, a slender column of perfumed smoke will curl in ascend- ing spirals, filling the air with a pleasing fragrance. Punk is also pleasing, but not so dainty as the sandal- wood. However, if the latter is used, a small orange suspended by a w r ire may be filled, the wooden ends of flic incense thrust in the fruit, as many as the space DINNERS 73 will allow. Each lighted, and the glowing ball swinging directly over the table, lends a quaint oriental effect. A girl clever with tissue paper can make a lew branches of cherry or plum blossoms, using real twigs and fasten- ing the blossoms with paste. The hostess may or may not be attired in Chinese costume, but when she prepares the blossom dessert, as she may do at table with the chafing-dish, she will make a far more fascinating picture gowned in the charming frock of Ah Chee ("golden branches"). If she learns a few ceremonious phrases and assumes a flowery speech for the afternoon, the fun will be the greater. The first course of an oriental dinner is tea served in tiny bowls. To make this perfectly, the boiling water must first be turned in the bowl to warm it, then back to the kettle. The tea leaves are then thrown in the bowl, the water poured over, and it can be served imme- diately. This is sipped from the bowl. Next a preserve of some kind is served. If in the city, where the Chinese preserved fruits can be bought, then gun got (preserved limes), ginger, called town gong, or sir lee (sweet pears) may answer. But if the hostess wishes to preserve the Chinese appetizer herself, then she may buy at any fruit stand the small Chinese mandarin: Cut the peel down in lily form, leaving the bottom whole and the white on top exposed. Drop these into boiling water, cook until tender. Have prepared in a porcelain kettle a thick syrup of wlnte sugar and water. Boil until a drop in cold water has the consistency of wax. Then drop 74 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS • in the oranges, put on the back of the stove and let simmer for half an hour. Take out, let dry in the oven until the surface is glazed. This not only is a very artistic preserve, but a delicious one. Chinese nuts are very good with this. If soup is desired, a chicken mushroom soup is very nice and more apt to be relished than birdsnest or shark fins. Boil a young chicken until a rich stock is made, into this jmt half a dozen water chestnuts shaved thin to give flavor; a bit of chopped ham, salt, pepper. Cut some of the white meat into dice, let all boil together twenty minutes. Mushrooms may be added. Just before serving, beat two eggs lightly and stir them in. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Chop Suey — For six persons. One pound of water chestnuts; two pounds of bean sprouts, which can be procured at any Chinese vegetable stand. While shop- ping, buy a quarter's worth of gee yow, a Chinese sauce made only in China, and which enters into nearly all oriental meat dishes. It is a brown looking liquid with a peculiar flavor and can be purchased of any Chinese dealer. The water chestnuts must be shaved thin; add a little sliced celery, one small onion chopped, half a dozen mushrooms ; cut young chicken into small pieces. Have a kettle with peanut oil (in same quantity as lard would be used), into this place the vegetables and chicken all together. Let fry until tender, stirring often to prevent burning. Just before taking off add the bean sprouts, which must not cook too long, as they are better when little more than half done. Drain off the liquor, DINNERS 75 add a little flour to thicken; salt to taste. Just at the last add a teaspoonful of the brown sauce. Pour all over the chop sue}', stir together and serve. Pineapple Fisli — A dish recently introduced in Xew York and much relished by the epicure. Take a fresh fish, pike preferred, remove bones, cut in inch squares. Make a batter of egg* and flour; dip the squares of fish until well covered, and drop in smoking hot peanut oil until a dainty brown. Let dry in the oven until vegeta- bles are prepared. Chop a little celery, one small green onion, about five mushrooms and one small can of pine- apple. Drain off the juice ; chop the pineapple into small pieces. Then add the pineapple juice, enough to cover, and boil all together. Just before serving, drop in the. squares of fish. Carry to table piping hot. This is a dainty condiment in which the fish takes on a delicious flavor from the pineapple and defies analysis as to just what kind of meat it is. To prepare squab a la Chinese, boil whole in salted water until half done; take out, dry with napkin; drop into a pot of peanut oil as for doughnuts and brown slowly. The Chinese do not make bread; rice is eaten with every course. Sometimes, however, a sort of biscuit is served. To make these, mix as for ordinary biscuit. Prepare chopped ham, a bit of parsley, chopped onion, a few mushrooms ; then take mixture about the size of a walnut, wrap the dough around it and steam until done. These are very good served with the pike or with chicken. Pineapple (Thicken — Take a raw chicken and cut 76 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS in good sized pieces, fry slowly in peanut oil until done. Take canned pineapple cut in dice, let boil for a moment and add to the chicken with enough juice to make gravy. With the pineapple chicken or with any roast or fried meats (the Chinese never boil meat), a brown salt is given. Common table salt is put in the oven until a rich dark brown. While it is still salt it takes on a different flavor, and is always served with a high-class Chinese dinner. Chrysanthemum Dessert — Take two eggs, beat lightly; add wheat flour to make thin batter; no salt. Take a fresh chrysanthemum^ yellow or white preferred, though any color will do; wash well, then pluck leaves, stir in batter. Chop a little of the green leaf also and add. Stir well together. Have ready smoking hot peanut oil. Take fork, pick up a few leaves out of the batter, drop lightly in oil, brown for a moment and remove to drain on absorbent paper. These may be done in the afternoon. Just before serving, drop again in the oil to make the outside crisp; sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. A more dainty dish cannot be imagined than this chrysanthemum conceit, which looks as dainty as it tastes. Rose leaves are prepared in the same way; honeysuckle or violets may be used to lend variety to color; but none are so delightful to the palate as the chrysanthemum. These may be prepared in a short time with the chafing-dish, and for an ordinary after- noon tea, served with champagne wafers, they make a most novel refreshment. If deep red roses are used, the DINNERS 77 color is beautiful. The drops of yellow chrysanthemums look like buttercups. For a good Chinese candy, home prepared, to be the last course, and pretty served in little plum blossom favors, take a fresh eocoanut, cut in two-inch strips, boil in syrup until tender ; let dry in slow oven and roll in powdered sugar. The Chinese lychee nuts can be pur- chased anywhere. Another candy, very nice and in keeping with an oriental dinner, is common potato sliced an eighth of an inch thick. Boil in syrup until almost done; sprinkle well with ginger; let dry in a slow oven and roll in powdered sugar before serving. It is very difficult for one uninitiated to say what this candy is, yet it is very appetizing and exceedingly wholesome. FOR A BIRTHDAY By B. P. An openwork cut silver fern dish, filled with exquisite growing ferns (a birthday gift), and the possession of a grandmother with silver candlesticks, which she is willing to lend, gave the motif for the silver and pink decorations of the tabls to be described. Even the bonbons were encased in silver foil and the frosting on the cake was imbedded with infinitesimal sflver candies — dragees, in confectioner's parlance. A genial glow was shed over the table by light coming through pink candle shades, and this color was accentu- 78 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS ated by bunches of large, long-stemmed roses placed at each plate, eight in each rose holder. * * * * "Who dreams without their thorns of roses?" Verily, she who makes the holders, and they who receive the roses in them ! For by this device the flowers can he handled without care! A flat pattern of the holder is given, with measures and directions for folding. The material to be used is rough, medium- weight water-color paper, the edges picked and torn unevenly in imitation of handmade paper, and a border of liquid silver is applied to both back and front; orna- ment further if you wish with silver scroll work, but leave the large out-turning flap plain. Lay the flowers along the space marked C ; the stems are to go through the opening in line A, and be kept in place by a ribbon DINNERS 79 (in this case a wide, soft pink one) which passes over them, through the slit in the line B, and ties in an artistic bow. The large flap is reserved for a quotation, printed in silver as prettily as may be. The finished affair is not put at the place of the person "to whom it most concerns," but is carefully laid for somebody else. When the guests leave the table at the end of the dinner, each one gives his bunch of roses to the one for whom he thinks the quotation most fitting; there is seldom any mistake, if the hits are palpable to the undiscerning, as they should be; it is no place for a delicate analysis of character. The sentiments naturally vary with the occasion and the age of the participants. The personal quotation idea at a dinner is generally a success; but as an imperative factor in making it so, the selections would better be of a complimentary nature, and never be hits upon unpleasant facts which could possibly hurt or offend. It is easy to find dozens of short, pithy classics in both prose and verse, that are applicable and "pat." At a family party I attended last year a great deal of fun came from the use of original squibs, doggerel and play upon the names, fads and foibles of its members, which would, however, have but little suggestion for the general reader. Even in the quota- tions for the dinner in hand several changes were neces- sary for publication — but it gives the idea: "Well may yon always be, 111 may you never see, Here's to your health, And the good companie!" 8o THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS "One of the few, the immortal names, that wore not born to die !" "The glass of fashion and the mold of form!" "Full of wise saws, and modern instances.'* "He hath prosperous art When he will play with reason and discourse, And well he can persuade."' "All the world loves a lover !" "A laugh is worth a hundred groans in any market !" "The kindest one,— The best conditioned and unwearied spirit In doing courtesies." "She was the sweet marjoram of the salad, or rather, the herb of grace." "Of stature tall — I hate a dumpy woman !" "You have a nimble wit; I think it was made of Atalanta's heels." "Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee, Calls back the lovely April of her prime." DINNERS 81 "Her voice was ever soft, GSntle and low; an excellent tiling in woman."' "Thou pendulum betwixt a smile and tear!" It is unnecessary to say that the first one went uner- ringly to the host, and the "immortal' 7 one, without a quiver of hesitation, to the man who rejoices in the not unusual cognomen of Smith. The dandy of the com- pany, to his apparent satisfaction, received the third quotation, and the eighth in the list was given, of course, to the hostess. Only the kind heart of the compiler kept her from substituting for number eleven : "Look, she's winding up the watch of her wit — ■ bye and bye it will strike!" it was so distinctly characteristic; but you see, it has a little sting. The following menu combined with the table dec- orations to make what "he whom we delighted to honor" thought was a fortunate and pleasing effect of color : Creme de marron Pulled bread Oyster loaf Celery Frogs' legs, fried Stuffed mushrooms Orange punch Redhead duck Sweet potatoes with sherry Clvoon grape jelly String bean salad in ice-block 82 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Welsh sandwiches ]NTesselrode pudding Maraschino sauce Angel cake Coffee Crewe de Marron — Boil and blanch three pints of chestnuts. Pound one pint and reserve for the pudding. Return the remaining quart to the kettle and stew tender in enough water to a little more than cover. Press through a fine sieve and add one quart of white stock. Heat to the boiling point and season with salt, pepper, a few drops of nutmeg, onion and celery essence. Lastly add one pint of whipped cream. Color green with a few drops of spinach extract. Oyster Loaf — I quite envy the woman who serves this dish for the first time, if her guests "fall to" with the same gusto ours did. Prepare a fresh loaf of baker's bread by cutting out a square from one end and tearing out the inside, as whole as possible. When but a shell is left, butter it well inside. Wash and drain a quantity of fine oysters, according to the size of the loaf, and fill it exactly as you would a dish for scalloped oysters, seasoning in layers with butter, pepper and salt, but omitting the crumbs. Replace the end of the loaf, rub the outside lightly with butter, set in a dripping pan and bake for about half an hour — a little longer than in a dish. The loaf will swell enough to keep the "lid" in place. Serve on a long platter in a border of cress. Probably as you try to cut it, it will crush to a savory mass. Make pulled bread of the inside of the loaf and dry in the oven. DINNERS 83 Dip the frogs' legs in milk; sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in flour and cook to a delicate brown in deep, smoking hot fat. Serve on a napkin with Stuffed Mushrooms — Take off the stalks from fresh, large mushrooms, peel the caps with a silver knife and drop them into cold water to keep them white. If they must stand for some time add a little lemon juice 'to the writer ; scrape the stalks, chop, and put into a saucepan with one tablespoonful of butter and a slice of onion : cook slowly for ten minutes, then add a table- spoonful of flour and cook five minutes more; add one cupful of stock ami one-half cupful of bread crumbs; season with salt and a dash of cayenne. Fill the mush- room cups with this mixture, sprinkle with buttered crumbs, place on circles of fried or toasted bread about the size of the mushroom, and bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes. Orange Punch — Boil together a quart of water and two and one-half cupfuls of sugar for ten minutes; add the juice of six oranges and one lemon; strain, and when cold add the contents of a pint bottle of champagne, and a very small quantity of damask-rose color paste, and freeze. This quantity, served in punch cups, was enough to put fourteen palates in readiness for Duck — Pick, singe and wipe outside. Salt and pepper the inside after carefully drawing and wiping out with a piece of old linen. Do not wash them. Cut off the wings at the second joint and truss the duek neatly. Roast in a very hot oven from fifteen to twenty minutes, in a baking pan containing a little water ; baste 84 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS frequently. Celery or onions, or apples, cored and quartered, are sometimes placed inside the duck to improve the flavor. The breasts of our cluck were removed in the kitchen, whole and hot, and sent to the table, one each on hot individual plates, on a small piece of fried hominy. When "canvasback" or "redhead" are on the menu, the host sometimes prefers to carve at table ; in that case it is customary, after drawing the duck, to cut an open- ing- at the neck, and through it pull the head and neck, letting the head emerge at the hark between the drum- sticks and tying it securely in place. This method of serving says to your guests. "You are eating canvasback, at five dollars a pair," and lias the additional objection of giving cold portions, unless the host is an expert carver. The day following this dinner we had a salad from the meat remaining on the uncarved parts, which I give : Duel- Salad — Cut the duck in small uniform bits, and marinate with a French dressing, substituting orange juice for lemon juice or vinegar. Mix with half the quantity, each, of orange carpels, freed from seeds and skin, and tender bits of celery. Add more dressing and garnish with olives and slices of orange, from which the skin has not been taken. Sweet Potatoes with Sherry (.Miss Farmer) — Bake a dozen medium-sized potatoes till soft, and cut in halves lengthwise. Scoop out the inside, press through a potato ricer, season with butter, salt and a dash of sherry, moisten with cream and put back in the shells, DINNERS 85 Leaving a roughened surface on top. Brown in a hot oven. An old soldering iron that I have threatened to throw away every spring and fall for — I didn't say how many years ! — helped me out in preparing my ice dish. I attempted to freeze an ice bowl in a double mold, with my small freezer, and failed dismally; but " 'can do' is an easy thing to carry about with you I" so I took a square block of ice and melted out with my despised soldering iron a shapely hollow, big enough to hold the salad, lined the hollow with lettuce leaves and filled it with a salad of string beans; then set the block of ice on a folded napkin on a large silver tray and garnished the base with lettuce and olives, the latter resting in pink rose leaves. Welsh Sandwiches — Rub together two parts of soft, mild cheese and one part of butter; flavor with mustard and an herb vinegar, and spread between thin slices of bread, cut in dainty shapes. Nesselrode Pudding — One half-pint of almonds, chopped and pounded; one pint of chestnuts (prepared as above directed), one half -pint of pineapple, grated; one-quarter of a pound of mixed candied fruits, cut into dice and soaked in two tablespoons each of sherry and maraschino; one-half pint of cream; yolks of five eggs; two teaspoons of vanilla; one-half pint of boiling water and one-half pint of sugar. Boil sugar, water and juice from the pineapple for ten minutes. Beat yolks and add, cooking like a custard. Cool and beat light. Mix nuts- and candied fruits with the cream, 86 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS add the flavoring and a bit of salt, fold into the custard and freeze in the usual way. Serve with a garnish of whipped cream, sprinkled with candied rose leaves, or with Maraschino Sauce — Beat to a cream the yolks of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Stir over the fire in a double boiler till the egg is slightly thickened ; take from the heat and continue to beat till the mixture is cold ; it will be light and creamy. Acid two tablespoonfuls of maraschino and mix lightly with half a pint of cream whipped to a dry, stiff froth. Serve on the dish with the pudding. A CHERRY BLOSSOM DINNER By Grace Hortense Tower Unique beyond anything that had ever before been given in the social line in Pasadena, California, was a cherry blossom dinner given by T. Aoki, a Japanese artist, in honor of the cherry blossom festival of Japan. For weeks, Aoki and his students, some of them Ameri- can girls who study with him, had been busy decorating the studio, painting the dinner cards and decorating and writing the cards of invitation, seventy-five of which were dispatched by special messenger three days before the affair was to take place. Six thousand artificial cherry blossoms had been sent from Japan for the embellishment of a large natural cherry tree which occupied the center of the great oval table. Dozens of DINNERS 87 THE HOST AND HIS HELPERS PREPARING FOR THE CHERRY BLOSSOM DINNER 88 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS wild goat skins, upon which were wrought most exquisite designs of peonies, iris, cherry blossoms, dragons, storks, demons and gods, covered one wall, while above ran a double frieze of crimson and green matting made of the fiber of the famous Japanese dwarf pine. Clusters of purple wistaria blossoms were painted upon the green, while the stately iris embellished the crimson. Upon the opposite wall were queer Japanese symbols and ban- ners, the massive pillars being inscribed with little love stories and Japanese poems to the cherry tree, following out the pretty Japanese custom of hanging poems upon the blossom-laden trees in the glad springtime. The windows had been painted to represent a garden of flowers, purple iris, rose-tinted cherry blos- soms and graceful wistaria clusters rivaling one another in beauty. The only hint that one was not in a corner of the flowery kingdom was the large silken American flag, whose graceful folds were draped with the flag of Japan from the ceiling over the table. Scores of odd white lanterns, painted in fleur-de-lis, were caught to walls, pillars and screens, while upon each picket of the little bamboo fence surrounding the "centerpiece" was a pink lantern. A shower of pink petals covered the space beneath the tree, while the tablecloth had been painted an hour or two before the dinner, with huge pink cherry blossoms. The favors for the ladies were miniature jinrikishas, the typical Japanese vehicle, while tiny china mandarins and gods were given the men. The napkins were of cherry blossom pink tissue paper. The delicate pink DINNERS 89 and gold wine cups with an embossed cherry blossom in the bowl were also given the guests as souvenirs after they had drunk the host's health in the pungent rice wine served in them. The menu was as follows : Consomme peony Lovers' knot potpourri Carp fish Golden epaulets and compound salads Braised chicken Spring mushrooms Royal gems Pounded fish Cherry blossom tea Excellent palace rice Vegetables carved to represent fleur-de-lis and peonies Hama Chidore Mixed fruits Six Japanese men deftly and noiselessly served the dinner, the little host explaining each course as it was brought in. Suddenly during the course of the meal there burst upon the air strange wailing notes, weird, yet sweet, and in a moment Xakamura, another Japa- nese artist, came in and played to the guests quaint Japanese lullabies upon his flute — a straight piece of bamboo hollowed out and as smooth as ivory. go THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS THE "COLD COMFORT DINNER" By Mary Dawson Each course at one of these affairs is served cold and the comfort extends equally to hostess, guest and maid. The woman who does not keep a maid can enter- tain charmingly in this way and without the addition of that final course so often seen in maid less entertain- ing, of "hot, worn-out hostess. " Here are a few "cold comfort" menus in outline. Using these as a basis the busy housekeeper will he able to build up a simple or elaborate bill of fare without much planning. MENU NO 1 Fruit frappe served in tumblers Deviled eggs Cress sandwiches Cold sliced or jellied tongue Potato salad Coffee Rolls and butter Individual molds of wine jelly containing candied fruit Ice cream Cake Bonbons MENU NO 2 Grape fruit Cold consomme with toasted erackers Pickled fish Game in season Cold sliced ham Potato salad Rolls and butter Currant jelly Dressed cucumbers in cucumber baskets Berries Ice cream Riisses Coffee DINNERS 9I MENU NO 3 Clams Iced bouillon Cold salmon Olive sandwiches Cold chicken Stuffed rolls Hollowed out tomatoes filled with dressed asparagus tips Hot coffee Frozen pudding Iced tea Wine croquettes MENU NO 4 Frapped grapes Cold clam bouillon Chicken salad Olives Boll* and butter Coffee Stuffed eggs in lettuce nests Orange jelly in orange baskets Ice cream Cake Bonbons AN OMAR KHAYYAM DINNER By M. C. D. One of the prettiest ideas developed lately in dinner decorating, which can be earned out by anyone with some skill in drawing, is an Omar Khayyam dinner. The scheme of such a dinner embraces name cards decorated in Persian designs in Persian rug colors, each bearing an appropriate quotation from the Rubaiyat, which abounds with them. The quotations should be 92 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS done in red on dark brown cards, with the name under- neath. In the center of the table a large irregularly cut skin in brown or dark red, which can be purchased for a dollar in any of the art shops, should be placed, and on this a pot full of deep red roses. The pot, of course, refers to the Eubaiyat lines on the potter, and, let it be whispered, the family bean pot will be pictur- esque, if no other is available. A LITERARY DINNER By M. C. D. At a dinner given by a literary woman in honor of a literary man, the menu and flowers were not unusual, but the name cards were. At each place the hostess had laid a rejection slip of one of the prominent mag- azines or newspapers. These were all mounted on large fancy pasteboard cards, so that the symmetry of the table was preserved and on the plain margins the name of the guest who was to occupy the place had been written. The guests, most of whom were contributors, saw the joke at once and all laughed over the merry conceit, Then the rejection slips were read and a vote taken as to which one embroidered its rejection with the most skill. A similar idea was put into effect at the Bohemian club in San Francisco, where a New York editor was entertained by a number of western writers. The tablecloth was entirely covered with rejected man- uscripts, their pages being scattered loosely over the cloth. DINNERS 93 A TOY DINNER By Mary Dawson A toy dinner for grown-up people is a new and fascinating idea for entertaining formally around Christ- mas season. The table centerpiece is a Christmas tree from the toy shop, trimmed as if for a child's party. Each guest, as he sits down, finds at his cover a plaything in place of a favor. The toys are chosen to fit the host- ess' pocketbook. If economy is an object, woolly lambs, jacks-in-boxes, dolls, et cetera, arc used. If there is no particular financial limit, mechanical toys are good fun. One ingenious hostess who entertained a Christmas dinner last year inserted a clause in her invitations asking each man or woman to come bringing the most ingenious mechanical toy that could be secured to com- pete in a contest. The toys were unwrapped between courses at dinner. Afterward, in the drawing room, each owner exhibited his toy. A general vote was taken up to decide which was the cleverest. Each player voted for any except his own by dropping a signed ballot into a box held by the hostess. Prizes were awarded for those toys for which most votes were cast. 94 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS THE GUESTS AT A PRETTY DINNER FOUND AT THEIR RESPECTIVE PLATES LETTERS STANDING, EASEL FASHION, SO AS TO SPELL THE NAME OF THE CLUB TO WHICH THEY BELONGED. THE LETTERS WERE CUT OUT OF CARDBOARD AND WERE DECORATED IN WATER COLORS, THIS DUTCH MAIDEN BEING A LIGHT BLUE. LUNCHEONS AND TEAS LUNCHEONS AND TEAS A SPRINGTIME LUNCHEON By Anne "Warner ONE bleak and tearful day in early April this simple and dainty board was laid, beguiling a few guests into a belief in the existence of the April that we long for and read about, and which, in our climate, is seemingly a sad laggard. Yet the pussy willows used in decorating had been gathered a few days before when March had "gone out like a lamb/"' The center of the antique table of polished mahog- any held, on a square of Armenian drawn work, a low iridescent glass vase, yellow and green tones predom- inating. The vase was filled with salt, and into this foundation the willow twigs were crowded and kept firmly in place. Upon the pussies a cloud of } r ellow butterflies had apparently alighted and were balancing airily. One of these "winged flowers" poised on the edge of each tumbler and served as a place card and souvenir. Everyone saw at once, of course, that they were paper and in the same instant wondered how they could "fly." The trick is a simple and pretty one. The coloring and shape are approximately those of the clouded sulphur butterfly — the common "puddle butter- fly" of our childhood — which sits every summer in swarms in moist spots and makes the wayside gay with 98 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS the flash of yellow wings. One poor colias philodice was sacrificed to be a guide in markings' and shadings. Outline the pattern on the thinnest torchon board (torchon paper is not heavy enough) and paint in water color in broad. washes. Use transparent colors, lemon yellow for the center of the wings ; a pale tint of Vene- tian red for the beautiful outer edges of same, and vandyke brown and black for the peculiar markings oetwe- \ The two "eyes" on the upper wings should be black and those on the lower ones a deeper tint of pinkish red. A faint wash of pale green and a few veinings in the shadows improve the lower wings. The body is painted dark as in nature. When dry, cut out with sharp scissors, carefully following the outline. Get a small quantity of buckshot ¥ F and hie thee with it to a machine shop where jobbing is done and where an amiable and patient man will follow orders. Experiments showed that the best way to flatten the shot is in a vise. If a piece of one-sixteenth steel be fastened between the jaws of the vise the shot can, one by one, be compressed to a uniform thickness and will be about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. (I feel quite important giving instructions about a vise, inas- much as I never even saw one before this experience — or, at least, not one spelt with an "s.") With a little fish glue fasten one of these weights very near the end of the elongated point of each upper wing. To make still more secure, and for the sake of neatness, cover the lead with a circle of white tissue paper, usmg in this case one of the white pastes that LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 99 come in tubes; these dry quickly and do not discolor. ( hi placing the head of the insect on the tip of the finger, or on any support not too slippery, it will be found to balance perfectly if directions have been followed. The position gives the butterfly a singularly lifelike appear- ance, which is enhanced by a slight swaying and waving motion caused by every draft of air. Bunches of single sweet-scented yellow jonquils in hall and living rooms made spring in the house. Two or three of the same blossoms — stemless — floated in opalescent fingerbowls on a side table. Gold and white china was used so far as practicable, and a few pussy twigs ornamented the plates of the first course, which was on the table when the guests sat down. MENU Oyster relish Celery Sandwiches Whitebait ^ Tu sit souffle White radishes Chicken timbales Stuffed eggs Bolls Washington salad Imperial sticks Pineapple in shell Sweet sandwiches Filled dates Oranges glace Cqfe au lait Blessings truly brighten as they take flight. The housekeeper hunts celery now with as keen a zest as if her family had not nibbled it with relish all winter; we enjoy oysters better than ever when we realize how near ioo THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS is the first "r"-less month. Yet with what avidity do we grasp at any new way of offering old standbys. Oysters are never better than on the half shell, but the arrangement here given has the advantage of novelty. Make shallow cups by cutting small shaddocks in halves crosswise and removing the pulp; fill with fine oysters and a very few bits of pulp, and lightly cover with a white cap of dressing made of three tablespoons of grated horse-radish root, one tablespoon of vinegar, one-quarter teaspoon of salt and a little paprika — "the goddess of good digest ion" ; add last of all four table- spoons of cream whipped stiff. Cups, oysters and dress- ing should be thoroughly chilled and the dressing pre- pared and put on only at the latest possible moment. An excellent way to send the cups to table is to half bury them in shaved ice. The cups used at this luncheon were prepared three days beforehand and had been kept fresh under water, the pulp having been appropriated for a salad at a previous affair. One can save both work and material by a little forethought. Look over and wash the tiny fish with great care and ruh dry in an old soft napkin. When everything is in readiness, roll in flour a sufficient number to cover thC bottom of a fine-meshed wire basket and imme- diately immerse in smoking hot fat. It takes but a moment to cook them. Turn on to a paper and sprinkle with salt. Let the fat get up to the right temperature while the next "batch" is being floured. Toss them on a sieve to shake off the surplus flour. Serve on a hot napkin on a hotter plate and garnish with a lemon slice 102 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS whieK has had the upper side covered with chopped parsley. They are delicious when attention is given to small details. If you have a cook that you cannot trust to do this, a slice of halibut, cut from the lower part of the fish, makes a good course cooked as follows : Scrape the skin and wipe; season with salt and pepper; lay in a pan and spread the top with a tablespoon each of butter and flour cooked together. Add a few narrow strips of salt pork and broil or bake in a hot oven till brown. Put diagonally across a hot platter and arrange a mound of Parisienne potatoes in one corner and pour a white sauce in the other — garnish same as whitebait. With either the souffle is most appetizing, as it is also with chicken. Mush Souffle (Mrs Korer) — Heat one pint of milk; stir in three-quarters of a cup of granulated corn meal and one teaspoon of salt and cook till well scalded. Take from fire and add the yolks of four eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Beat whites of the eggs with a pinch of salt and fold in. Bake twenty minutes in a well-greased baking dish in a quick oven and serve at once. Eat with butter. The timbales were poached in individual buttered molds decorated with truffles, one tiny can of truffles being enough, and were turned out on the center of a round platter. Arranged about them in a circle were the eggs, and a thin, rich Allemande sauce was poured round the whole. Stuffed Eggs — Boil six eggs twenty minutes; LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 103 remove shells and cut carefully crosswise. Mash the yolks, season with a teaspoon of softened butter, a few drops of onion juice and half the quantity of deviled ham or tongue. Make into balls and fill the white halves. The olives for the course were stuffed with capers. At this particular luncheon the springlike effect was accentuated by the dishes in which the salad appeared — excellent majolica imitations of romaine leaves — a single one for each person, some of them having an ornament of a very realistic radish. A large dish in this ware, formed of several leaves in a circle curving upward, and a mayonnaise cup, simulating a pale green lettuce heart, make a pretty set for many salads where .the other table appointments are not too elegant. Washington Salad — Clean, blanch and prepare sweetbreads as usual. Cook in salted, acidulated water containing a slice of onion and a bit of bay leaf; cool and cut in slices. Add half the quantity of sliced cucumbers which have lain in an ice water bath an hour or so and then been dried and seasoned with onion juice, wdiite pepper and salt. Mix with a plain oil dressing, made without mustard. Arrange on indi- vidual plates on watercress. Garnish with cucumber as follows: Pare, cut crosswise in thirds or quarters according to size, remove the centers and fill with sauce tartare. Served on a bleached lettuce leaf, this garnish makes a satisfactory little salad by itself. To make the sticks simply cut bread into long, 104 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS slender, uniform lingers, butter lightly and set in a hot oven till a delicate brown. Pile on a plate log cabin fashion. Fry, sprinkling them with grated cheese some time before browning, and eat with bouillon. One cannot always find a pineapple — large, ripe and unblemished — suitable to serve in this way. The golden-meated juicy variety from Florida is far and away the best that comes to our market. Lacking the per- fection that you seek, some other dessert can be sub- stituted — orange cup, for example, with fresh sponge cake. But if you do find it, chill, cut oif the leafy top, to be used as a cover, and set it aside. Dig out the pulp, taking great care not to puncture the shell, and dis- carding the fibrous and tasteless core. Add the shredded pulp of another small specimen to replace the waste. Sweeten to taste and keep cold till needed. To serve, fill the shell, fit on the top and set on a dainty doily on a flat china or glass dish. Three butterflies poised on the palmlike top are most effective. The hostess may remove the cover and its decorations intact to another plate and by means of a small ladle, dip the fragrant, luscious fruit on to plates containing each a Dessert Sandwich — Cut sponge cake into thin oblongs or squares. Put between two pieces a slice of vanilla ice cream that has been molded in brick form. Ornament the top slice of cake with whipped cream (sweetened and flavored slightly with cordial) pressed through a pastry tube. I give also the recipe for Orange Cups — Stir over the fire two cups of gran- LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 105 ulated sugar and one cup of water till dissolved; then let boil without stirring until the syrup spins a thread. Add one pint of orange juice and the juice of one lemon. Scald one cup of cream, stir into beaten yolks of two eggs, cool and mix with the syrup. When thoroughly chilled add another cup of cream whipped, one half a teaspoon of vanilla and touch of yellow color paste. Freeze and serve in glasses. Salted nuts in small dishes were set at each cover. The dates were stuffed with oblong bits of preserved ginger — an excellent combination. Perhaps a word or two may help those who "never have any luck making glaees/' Don't attempt them on a damp day. Divide oranges carefully into sections, rejecting all carpels which have the slightest break in the thin skin ; let those that pass muster stand for several hours to dry. Boil the sugar to the point just before the caramel stage and watch closely as it becomes straw colored. Eemove to back of range; drop in the orange sections one at a time, take out quickly with two forks, disturbing the syrup as little as possible, and place separately on an oiled marble slab or paper. The syrup will bear reheat- ing once only. Leave a short stem on Malagas and with a pair of pincers take each grape by its handle and dip. Work quickly. Glaces are "peculiar critters" and if the day before they are needed happens to be fine and dry, make them then and keep crisp and fresh under an inverted bowl, which should also cover a small piece of lime. Mix coffee, eggs and water in the usual proportions, ioG THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS having the water cold. Set on the range where it will heat, but not boil, for half an hour; then add hot, rich milk, allowing one enp of milk to every quart of coffee. Do not allow to boil. A CHICAGO LUNCHEON By Linda Hull Larned The table was decorated with a big silver bowl of Meteor roses, which, as everyone knows, are a beautiful crimson. The menu was of the following courses : First, Tokay grapes, ice cold; second, cream soup with breadsticks. This soup was of clams and oysters chopped fine, and tomato juice and pulp mixed with a thin cream sauce, then strained and served in cups with a spoonful of whipped cream in each. Third, creamed scallops and mushrooms. There was an addition of minced truffles, and it was served in ramekin dishes with slices of hard-boiled egg and bits of parsley as a garnish. With this course was a plate of entire wheat bread sandwiches. Fourth, grape fruit sherbet, a creamy orange ice surrounded with a half frozen syrup made of grape fruit juice and sugar. Fifth, chicken fillets, rice balls, French beans, jam. The chicken breasts were parboiled slightly, then browned under the fire and served with a rich brown sauce, to which the rice balls were added. The rice balls were very tiny but savory, with cheese and salt and lots of paprika. They w T ere fried in deep fat. The beans were the red kidney variety, and as they were canned LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 107 they were simply warmed in butter, mineed parsley and a few drops of lemon juice. The jam was a relish made of rhubarb, strawberries, pineapple, raisins and almonds. The sixtli course was salad macedoine. This was lettuce, grape fruit, celery, apples and white grapes garnished with cream cheese balls flanked by pecan nuts. ( )ver this was a French dressing made with grape fruit juice instead of vinegar. With this were served some tiny sandwiches made of gluten crackers, put together with butter and bar-le-duc jam. The seventh course was rose ice cream and pasties, a French ice cream served in champagne glasses, a spoonful in each, over which was poured a deep pink sauce made of syrup, whipped cream and rum, colored with cochineal. Upon each plate was an American Beauty rose, which matched the syrup in the glass. Small crescents of puff paste were covered with a meringue upon which were sprinkled blanched and browned almonds minced fine, and the pasties were then slightly browned in the oven. The accessories were salted pecan nuts, popcorn and crimson and white peppermints. Of course the finish was strong black coifee in the tiniest of cups and a thimbleful of creme de menthe for each guest. FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY By L. A. Browne The complaint has often been made by very young ladies, and frequently by older young ladies, that the 108 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS Fourth of July was a day much more enjoyed by boys and young men than by the members of their sex. There arc ways, however, in which the young lady may both enjoy and celebrate the occasion. An Independence day party is one of these. Once assembled at the home of the hostess, the guests may enjoy themselves by any of the customary met hods adopted by young ladies upon such occasions. They should, however, wear some patriotic emblems, such as red, white and blue sashes or ribbons, and a very pleasant feature of the occasion would be for each guest to come prepared, by request, to give some information regarding the women of Revolutionary times. The crowning feature of the event should be the lunch. The room in which this is served should be well deco- rated with, flags and bunting of the national colors, while such Revolutionary pictures as George and Martha Washington, the battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston tea party, Washington crossing the Delaware, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the surrender of Corn- wallis, etc., should adorn the walls if they are obtainable. The table should be draped about the edge with tri- colored bunting and a knot of this or a flag draped about each chair. If possible, scenic a well-mounted American eagle to place in the center of the table, with a flag draped about the base. At each plate place a paper or muslin flag for a napkin, and upon each plate mount a formidable cannon, made by securing two oranges and a banana with a long wooden or metal pin. A tiny flag stuck LUNCHEONS AND TEAS 109 in the lower end of the banana will add to the effect. The menu should have at the top a flag, either a real one fastened on or one put on with colors. At the bottom a drawing of the cracked Liberty bell would be in keep- ing with the idea, while at either side attach a genuine firecracker. The lunch menu may be either printed or written, and should read as follows: Patriotic sandwiches Ham and tongue, a la Valley Forge Star cookies and stripe cake Pinwheels Washington pie Giant firecrackers Cannon Torpedoes Iced tea (without tax) Pink lemonade, a la July 4 The patriotic sandwiches should be small, dainty sandwiches tied with red, white and blue ribbons. The meats, "a la Valley Forge/' would of course be cold. Star-shaped frosted cookies and layer cake explains the next item. A slice of jelly roll is an excellent imitation of a pinwheel. Deep pink strawberry ice cream, made in molds with a shred of cocoanut fuse, makes the giant firecracker. Put confectionery in small bags or tinfoil and over this twist red tissue paper i:i imitation of tor- pedoes. The cannon has already been described. The Washington pie and iced tea need no comment. Serve a straw with the lemonade and in the straw place a tiny flag. The napkins and menu cards will make good sou- venirs for the guests. no THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS A display of fireworks in the evening, superintended by sonic male member of the family, together with patriotic songs, would he a fitting finale for the occasion, and it is safe to assume that such a celebration would l)c thoroughly enjoyed by the young ladies. The older ones would also find this lunch menu suitable, or they could give a dinner party and reception or social hop. For the dinner party the menus should be decorated like the one already described, and con- tain the following. For the United States soup any light stock will do. Into this place a quantity of mac- aroni letters "IT" and "S." Macaroni now comes stamped out in all the letters of the alphabet. Turkey is of course our native bird. The giant firecrackers, pinwheels, cannon, torpedoes and lemonade have been previously described. The menu: United States soup Red sliced tomatoes White iced cucumbers Blue cabbage cold slaw Plymouth Rock cod Spanish mackerel (done brown) New England trout Roast sirloin of American beef Roast lamb (U S) mint sauce Our native bird Washington pickles Boiled and mashed new potatoes New beets Grreen peas Indian corn on the cob White bread American cheese Vermont butter LUNCHEONS AND TEAS in Indian pudding Washington pie Pinwheels Giant firecrackers Cannon Torpedoes Tea (without tax) California coffee Pink lemonade, a la July 4 A UNIVERSITY LUNCHEON By G. W. A Yale luncheon given last Christmastide was a brilliant success. The ideas may be utilized for the entertainment of students from any college, merely changing the colors, Harvard's crimson, for example, Iowa's old gold, Chicago's maroon, Texas's white and orange, or Dartmouth's green. The invitations read: Miss Rachel Wynn Miss Frances Sutherland Mr. Richard Sutherland Yale Luncheon, 1 o'clock, December 27 Whist from 3 to 6 415 Ay res Avenue The Wynn house is small. There is a cozy reception hall, parlor, sitting room and dining roorn on the first floor. All the rooms open into each other with wide arches, which fit it capitally for entertaining. Our decision was to have no flowers, not even a palm, and keep the entire house in harmony of coloring. Fortunately for our scheme, every room had a quiet gray or bluish paper, ii2 THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HOSTESS and in carpets, furniture and hangings there was not a touch of color that would clash with the blue of Yale. Our first bit of luck was the loan of a huge bundle of Yale flags and bunting from the College Men's club. A Hag, with a great while "Yale" on it, we stretched across one end of the sitting room, another, as immense as a campaigning banner, draped the west wall of the dining room. The stairs were garlanded with dark blue bunting, and all over the house fluttered little class flags hearing dates that ran from '80 to '04. We allowed bundles of mistletoe tucked cunningly under gas fix- tures. Holly was out of the question; it would have rooted for Harvard. Serving luncheon at 1 was an innovation, but an excellent one. When the dishes were cleared away the anxiety was over, and the hostess moved about among her guests without a thought of a meal to be served at the end of the game. We set ten small tables, three in the dining room, four in the sitting room, two in the parlor and one in the hall. The tables were snowily linened, there were doilies in blue and white, and the centerpiece on each table was a glass dish filled with small bunches of splendid blue and white grapes. There was nothing blue to be found in the fruit or flower kingdom except these, and the coloring was superb. All the disbes we used were handsome old-fasbionod willow ware or solid dark blue. Blue seems one of the impossible colors to achieve in cool