In carving beef, mutton, lamb and veal, thin, smooth and neat slices
are desirable ; cut across the grain, taking care to pass the knife through
to the bones of the meat.
A ham may be carved in several ways. First, by cutting long, deli-
cate slices, through the thick fat, in the center, down to the bone ; or
by running the point of the knife in the circle of the middle and cutting
thin, circular slices, thus keeping the ham moist, and last and most
economically, by beginning at the knuckle and slicing upward.
A tongue should be carved as thin as a wafer, its delicacy depending
a great deal on this, and a well cut tongue will tempt the most fastidi-
ous. A beef's heart should also be cut in the same way.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S DINNERS. 45
BREAKFAST PARTIES,
These are becoming fashionable, because less formal and not so
expensive as dinners. The courses are served exactly the same as
dinners, only there is a feeling of freedom and jollity foreign to the
care and responsibility of dinner giving, enjoyed both by the guests and
hostess.
Oat meal porridge and cream is the first course, and if well cooked is
a palatable and agreeable dish. Oranges, melons and fruits are brought
on after the porridge. The coffee is set before the mistress, with cups
in their saucers, in front of it in one or two rows. Here is an oppor-
tunity for using the delicate china cups and saucers, quaint coffee-pot
and its attendant service.
The meat with plates is set before the host, flanked with potatoes,
crisp and brown, and eggs served as omelettes or in other ways. For
an ordinary table one castor is sufficient and this should be a low one.
The course of meat and vegetables is then followed by hot fried mush
and cakes, and then the coffee. Honey or maple syrup for the cakes or
mush is served in small dishes. Butter is served in small pots with a
lump of ice. Hot biscuits, buns or waffles are delicious with the coffee
and are often served with it.
The table linen may be white, with scarlet border, with a scarlet and
white napkin under each plate. Very little silver is used at breakfast
parties as it is too cold looking for a cheerful breakfast table, but instead
bring on the odd china, colored glass, and anything and everything that
will give an air of brightness to this morning feast.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S DINNERS.
At the holiday season nearly all like their tables arranged with more
elaboration than at any other time, especially if there are children in
the family. To please them — and the grown people too — in place of
gas use wax candles, and if you have old-fashioned candlesticks or can-
delabras, so much the better. These candles give a soft, mellow light,
pleasing to the eye, and also a better effect to the decorations. In addition
to the plants and flowers mentioned above, ferns and autumn leaves
may be added ; also holly leaves, placed in borders around the dishes
and plates, and colored candies, sweets and crystallized bon-bons and
fruits can be strewn around in small baskets with great success. Foun-
dations of stout white paper, covered over with soft fluffy cotton,
frosted over with alum crystals, make a very pretty foundation for high
dessert dishes or epergnes* Deep glass dishes and baskets with handles,
wreathed over with ferns or trails of plants, can be filled with nuts,
candies and raisins, and sunk into beds of moss.
Page 40
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In carving beef, mutton, lamb and veal, thin, smooth and neat slices are desirable ; cut across the grain, taking care to pass the knife through to the bones of the meat.
A ham may be carved in several ways. First, by cutting long, delicate slices, through the thick fat, in the center, down to the bone ; or by running the point of the knife in the circle of the middle and cutting thin, circular slices, thus keeping the ham moist, and last and most economically, by beginning at the knuckle and slicing upward.
A tongue should be carved as thin as a wafer, its delicacy depending a great deal on this, and a well cut tongue will tempt the most fastidious. A beef's heart should also be cut in the same way.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S DINNERS. 45
BREAKFAST PARTIES,
These are becoming fashionable, because less formal and not so expensive as dinners. The courses are served exactly the same as dinners, only there is a feeling of freedom and jollity foreign to the care and responsibility of dinner giving, enjoyed both by the guests and hostess.
Oat meal porridge and cream is the first course, and if well cooked is a palatable and agreeable dish. Oranges, melons and fruits are brought on after the porridge. The coffee is set before the mistress, with cups in their saucers, in front of it in one or two rows. Here is an opportunity for using the delicate china cups and saucers, quaint coffee-pot and its attendant service.
The meat with plates is set before the host, flanked with potatoes, crisp and brown, and eggs served as omelettes or in other ways. For an ordinary table one castor is sufficient and this should be a low one. The course of meat and vegetables is then followed by hot fried mush and cakes, and then the coffee. Honey or maple syrup for the cakes or mush is served in small dishes. Butter is served in small pots with a lump of ice. Hot biscuits, buns or waffles are delicious with the coffee and are often served with it.
The table linen may be white, with scarlet border, with a scarlet and white napkin under each plate. Very little silver is used at breakfast parties as it is too cold looking for a cheerful breakfast table, but instead bring on the odd china, colored glass, and anything and everything that will give an air of brightness to this morning feast.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S DINNERS.
At the holiday season nearly all like their tables arranged with more elaboration than at any other time, especially if there are children in the family. To please them — and the grown people too — in place of gas use wax candles, and if you have old-fashioned candlesticks or candelabras, so much the better. These candles give a soft, mellow light, pleasing to the eye, and also a better effect to the decorations. In addition to the plants and flowers mentioned above, ferns and autumn leaves may be added ; also holly leaves, placed in borders around the dishes and plates, and colored candies, sweets and crystallized bon-bons and fruits can be strewn around in small baskets with great success. Foundations of stout white paper, covered over with soft fluffy cotton, frosted over with alum crystals, make a very pretty foundation for high dessert dishes or epergnes* Deep glass dishes and baskets with handles, wreathed over with ferns or trails of plants, can be filled with nuts, candies and raisins, and sunk into beds of moss.