Gala-Day Luncheons: A Little Book of Suggestions

A POND-LILY LUNCHEON

Fill a shallow dish with water, and put several lilies with their leaves on top, but not so closely but that the water will show between them. Hide the outside of the dish with an arrangement of the lilies and their leaves, being careful not to have it look stiff. Cut your guest-cards in the shape of open lilies, and paint them, writing the name of the guest across their face. Have your bonbons all green and white, and use plain white, or green and white china for serving the meal as far as you can, for the sake of preserving the cool look of the table. The ice cream may be in the pond-lily flowers, prepared as were the peonies in the June luncheon. If the lilies are plenty, use them in bowls about the parlours and halls, to carry out the idea of the day.

MENUClams on the Half-ShellCream of Spinach Soup. CroutonsDevilled CrabsMushroom PattiesBraised Tongue. Potatoes au GratinFrozen Tomato Salad. MayonnaiseIce Cream in Water Lilies. CakesCafé Frappé or Iced Tea

The braised tongue is prepared as before, stewed with herbs and seasoning in a baking-pan in the oven, but in this case it is served hot, with a spoonful of its gravy, strained, on each slice.

There is no sherbet in this menu, as the frozen salad takes its place. This is made by cutting fresh tomatoes into bits, mashing them, seasoning and freezing them, stirring occasionally to make them smooth; after they are stiff they must be scraped from the dasher, pressed down, and allowed to stand for an hour. They are to be cut in round spoonfuls, laid on a few lettuce leaves, and mayonnaise passed with them.

The ice cream may be either a white or a pistache cream, and the water lilies should be treated as were the peonies, the heart of the flower removed and a piece of waxed paper laid in the centre with the cream on it.

This same idea of coolness may be also well carried out in a luncheon in which ferns are made to play their part.

A FERN LUNCHEON

The house should be filled with ferns, in the fireplaces, in the window seats, in the parlours, and in the halls. In the dining-room the table may be laid either or without a cloth, and a large shallow pan or tray put in the centre; if a tray is used, it should have a layer of absorbent cotton on it. The edge of this dish must be concealed by tiny growing ferns; in the dish should be large pieces of ice, piled in an irregular mound, and very small ferns put in the crevices. The ice will give out enough coolness to perceptibly affect the atmosphere of the room, and the combination of the ice and ferns is a pretty one. A few days before the luncheon some ferns may be pressed, and these may be laid on the table if it is so large as to admit of more decoration; the cards may also have a little fern pasted on each.

An appetising menu might be: —

MENUIced PeachesCream of Corn SoupFilets of Flounder. Sauce TartareClams à la NewburghChops. Stuffed Tomatoes. Iced TeaRed Raspberry SherbetAlmond Aspic Salad. Brown Bread and ButterIce Cream in Melons

The peaches are not to be frozen, but kept on the ice after they are halved, peeled, and sprinkled with sugar, until they are thoroughly chilled. They may have a small spoonful of whipped cream served with them, if that combination is liked. The clams are prepared exactly as is lobster, except that they must be kept for a little longer in the sauce in order to just cook them through. They are to be served in ramekins. The tomatoes are to have the inside removed without breaking the skin, and this is mixed with bread crumbs and seasoning, returned to the tomatoes, and baked.

The salad is made by filling small individual moulds with almonds and bouillon jelly made of melted extract of beef, seasoning, and dissolved gelatine; the nuts should be cut into strips and arranged in a pattern with a little of the aspic before the moulds are filled. A stiff mayonnaise is to be served with this.

The ice cream is particularly delicious, though it seems very odd to one who is not familiar with it. A very rich cream is made with the yolks of five eggs added to a quart of cream, and when done it is put in large spoonfuls in halved, small, and spicy muskmelons. The two eaten together are a decided improvement on either alone.

There is really no reason for having sherbet with such a menu as this, for two cold dishes are already on the bill of fare, but if the day is extremely warm, it may be thought best to have it, even if it is acknowledged to be quite unnecessary.

A POVERTY LUNCHEON

Poverty luncheons are usually arranged in a series, every one of eight or ten hostesses giving in turn a meal to the rest which must cost exactly a specified price, the smaller the better. Usually two dollars and a half is selected as the proper amount for ten persons, and the rivalry between the luncheon-givers as to which one shall have the most elaborate meal for the price makes these luncheons very entertaining. Of course, by keeping everything down to the lowest possible sum, one can have any number of courses, but it is better to have less and have it fairly substantial. The prices of all the food, even to the butter, must be written on a card at each plate, and the flowers or other decorations are extras.

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September

As the days begin to grow cooler, and a suspicion of frost in the air in the early morning brings back one's vigour, golf seems the finest game in the world, and long days are spent on the links. A luncheon for golfers will transform any day in the week into a gala day, if only it is not taken too seriously. The guests are to come in their golf suits to be in keeping; the luncheon should be bright and informal rather than stately.

If the company is a large one, seat them in fours at small tables, each of which should have a centrepiece of salvia, or Scotch heather, or – just for fun – thistles. The little souvenirs for this luncheon are of great variety, and most ingenious. There are plaid golf bags with sticks, to be filled with bonbons, or small plaid woollen caps to be presented to men afterwards for tobacco pouches, unless the men are present to receive them at the luncheon. There are plaid-covered golf score-books, which are really useful as well as pretty, and a host of other things, such as individual sticks, which are less elaborate.

Your cards may have sketches of girls in golf costume, or little cuts of such figures may be found in colours in golf catalogues, and cut out and pasted on the cards. The tables may have plaid ribbon drawn down each side, or have bows at the corners. You might have a Scotch menu for the sake of variety, although Scotch dishes do not compare with American.

SCOTCH MENUScotch BrothBoiled Salmon. Boiled PotatoesHaggisPheasant. Currant JellyScotch Rarebit on ToastPlum Tart with Cream. Coffee

The broth is made by stewing mutton with vegetables until it is sufficiently strong; when the whole is strained and cooked, barley is added till the broth is quite thick; just before serving, a little chopped parsley is put in. Haggis is usually rather a formidable dish to undertake, as most recipes are very elaborate; this one, however, is simple and the results are good. Boil the head, heart, and liver of a sheep with one pound of bacon for an hour; then chop them, season highly, and add sufficient oatmeal to make a thick mush. Boil this in a bag for two hours, and serve it in the same bag, rolling it back to look as well as possible; this receptacle is less objectionable than that in which haggis is served in Scotland, – the stomach of the sheep.

Should you fear to venture on this dish, you might substitute for it Scotch snipe. For this make a paste of a box of sardines mixed with lemon and a little onion juice; spread on slices of bread and cut in strips half an inch thick. Put these in the oven and heat thoroughly, and then pour over them a sauce made of the beaten yolks of two eggs and six tablespoonfuls of cream, to which has been gradually added a tablespoonful of melted butter, and after taking from the fire, a half-teaspoonful of salt, a dash of red pepper, and a little chopped parsley. The strips of toast must be served very hot, and will be found delicious. Even if the haggis is used, this dish might be added to the bill of fare. If pheasant is not obtainable, prairie chicken is a perfect substitute for it, or woodcock will do in the place of either.

The Scotch rarebit is quite different from the Welsh, being made by adding to half a pint of white sauce a tablespoonful of anchovy paste and a pinch of red pepper; cook this for a moment and add six hard-boiled eggs cut in rather large bits. Simmer the whole for three minutes, and serve on buttered toast.

The plum tart is made by cooking large purple or green-gage plums in a deep baking dish with a sprinkling of flour and plenty of sugar, and a cover of pie-crust over the top. Tart is always served in what foreigners call dessert plates, but they are exactly like our soup plates, with a dessert spoon and a fork, and thick cream is passed with the dish. Coffee is never served on a Scotch table as a final course, but is offered with tea in the drawing-room after the meal. However, in this case it may be passed after the tart, or poured on the porch afterwards.

Should you wish a more conventional luncheon, this menu is a delicious one.

MENUGrapesChicken BouillonCodfish Steaks. Lobster SauceBaked Spaghetti with OystersPrairie Chicken with Currant JellyBrowned PotatoesTomato and Walnut Salad. Cheese CrackersFrozen WatermelonCoffee

Although this is rather an elaborate menu, there is no sherbet in it on account of the watermelon, which is better if no other frozen dish is used with it.

The spaghetti is prepared exactly as when cooked with cheese; that is, it is stewed till tender, washed in cold water to remove the starch, and laid in a dish in layers with seasoning, oysters, and white sauce, and baked till brown. This is more easily managed if bread crumbs are put on top with butter, and small dishes or ramekins are used.

The watermelon is to be scooped in large spoonfuls from the rind, the seeds removed, and the melon laid in a freezer with powdered sugar and a little sherry, and the freezer put in a cool place packed with ice and salt for at least five hours.

When country houses are rather far apart, it is often convenient to go from one to another on one's wheel, in spite of the fact that bicycling is no longer in high favour. Still, so long as wheels are so useful they will continue to be used, and just so long

A BICYCLE LUNCHEON

will be found appropriate for some occasion.

Decorate your table with golden-rod or autumn leaves or a mixture of golden-rod and purple asters, the two flowers which are so beautiful together; do not on any account use garden or hot-house flowers for a luncheon, which on its face suggests out-of-door sport. Search the magazines for bicycle advertisements, and cut out bicyclers in all sorts of attitudes and dress, and paste these on cards with a brief line commending some one make of wheel for each guest; the more extravagant the praise of each, the better. There are all sorts of pretty little favours to be had of bicycles, tricycles, and tandems, which will serve as souvenirs. This may be transformed into an automobile luncheon by the change of the two conveyances. Oysters are again in season, and will be welcomed by the hostess as a first course.

MENUOysters on the Half-ShellTomato SoupCreamed Lobster in ShellsQuail on Toast. Potato Croquettes. JellyHot RollsGrape SherbetApple Salad. Water-Cress SandwichesFrozen Peaches. CakeCoffee. Bonbons

The salad is made by scooping out the whole inside of a large red apple, after a slice has been carefully cut from the stem end with a sharp knife; this pulp is chopped, mixed with small bits of celery and English walnuts, with stiff mayonnaise, and the whole returned to the apple, the top being put on again so that the cut does not show; this is a very pretty salad, especially if care is taken to choose perfect apples.

As college opens again there are always those whose school-days are over, who are "left lamenting" somewhat because the happy days are no more. For such, a luncheon may be arranged which will have special reference to the common past of a group of classmates.

ALUMNI LUNCHEON

Lay the table prettily with the usual doilies, bonbon dishes of almonds, radishes, candies, and crystallised fruits. Garden asters are now in full bloom and come in great variety of colour, and these will make a beautiful centrepiece, massed in a large bowl. The combination of crimson and pink, of pink and white, or of white and purple is better than the use of one shade alone. The table should be lighted with Roman lamps or else with Jerusalem candlesticks, as suggestive of classical studies; to be sure, September is one of the sunny months, but this luncheon may be used quite as well at some other time of the year as the fall, if that is desired, so the suggestion of the lamps may stand.

The most attractive feature of the luncheon may be the cards, which may well be preserved for years as souvenirs of college as well as of this meal; they are to be photographs of the particular place in the college grounds or dormitories or village with which each guest was most associated. If one has a friend still in college with a kodak (and what college girl does not own one?), she can take and send them to you. The girl who was oftenest in the Dean's office for reprimand may have a picture of that interior; the one who was champion at basket ball, a view of the gymnasium with the team at play; the girl who was the best at chemistry, a glimpse of the laboratory; the one who frequented the soda fountain down town, a picture of that. Or, if these photographs are too frivolous, pictures of beautiful views about the college grounds may be substituted.

The luncheon may suggest in its menu the favourite dishes of some of the class, or one course might be a reminder of something served constantly on the college table; this meal really gives unlimited opportunity for ingenuity.

If the weather does not admit of using artificial lights, and yet the table is felt to be incomplete without the small Roman lamps, they might be filled with flowers instead of oil and used as decorations, the central group of asters being kept low in a very shallow bowl.

MENUPeaches and GrapesCream of Corn SoupCreamed OystersJellied Chicken. Pim-olasChops with Peas. Sweet Potato CroquettesLemon SherbetTomato and Lettuce Salad. French DressingSandwichesMaple Parfait. CakesCoffee. Bonbons

The maple parfait is one of the most delicious of desserts, and one easily prepared as well. The yolks of eight eggs are beaten stiff, a cupful of maple syrup is added, and the whole is heated until it makes a thick coating on the spoon, when it is taken from the fire and beaten until it is cold; a pint of thick cream is then beaten stiff and mixed lightly with the eggs and syrup, and the whole is put in a melon mould and packed in ice and salt for five hours. The bonbons served with the coffee should be those especially fancied by the girls of the college; if there is a fudge named for the institution, that is the sweet to choose.

A LABOUR DAY LUNCHEON

As Labour Day is a national holiday, it must be regarded as a gala day. A luncheon which is in keeping with the occasion must not be elaborate, but, on the contrary, as simple as may be without actually serving the labourer's bill of fare. A good deal may be done to divert the guests without giving a suspicion of making fun of the occasion, which is not in the least contemplated. The table should be laid with a cloth, plain white china used, and the decorations should be wild flowers. The cards should bear a sketch of a labourer, and the favours should be small picks, shovels, spades, and hoes, such as children play with. Have a course of cold meat, and one of baked beans, as well as one in which crackers, cheese, and coffee are served at the same time.

MENUBouillon (in Tin Cups)Baked Beans in Bean-PotsCold Lamb. Pickles. Bread and ButterPotato SaladVanilla Ice Cream (in Small Tin Dinner-Pails)Crackers, Cheese, and Coffee

This is a rather plain meal, but nothing else will be appropriate, and the idea of the day will prove its best sauce.

October

One of the oddest of luncheons may be given in October on the tin-wedding anniversary, for as this is a favourite month for weddings, anniversaries are sure to be frequent among one's friends; the bride of a decade ago may gather her former bridesmaids for a luncheon served with reminiscences, or a bridesmaid may entertain the group, or possibly a number of October brides of ten years' standing may gather to celebrate on one day the anniversaries scattered through the month.

A TIN-WEDDING LUNCHEON

Lay the table in pink; have a lace centrepiece over silk, a tin quart measure in the middle filled with pink bridesmaid's roses, and pink candles with pink rose shades, if the day is dark. Use small tin plates for the bread and butter, and put the bonbons, almonds, radishes, and candied ginger in little scalloped tins. A souvenir spoon may be given each guest, – of tin, of course, – tied with a white ribbon, with the name of some city the bride did not visit on her wedding trip painted in white letters in the bowl; one is supposed to believe that these spoons were purchased at Copenhagen, Constantinople, and Moscow with a view to this occasion. Or, if souvenir spoons seem altogether out of date, though really they would have been quite the thing ten years ago, and are therefore no anachronism, give the guests some small tin utensil such as an apple-corer, or a nutmeg-grater. Serve everything in tin; the bouillon in small cups with handles, the sherbet in scalloped tins, the fish, salad, and ice cream on tin plates of medium size, and the chicken on larger ones. The coffee may be in tin timbale moulds. If you use candles, put them in ordinary tin candlesticks.

MENUPeachesBouillonBroiled Oysters on ToastCurried Eggs in Rice BorderChicken Breasts with Italian ChestnutsPotato Croquettes. RollsOrange SherbetPlum Salad. Lettuce SandwichesSunshine Ice Cream and CakeCoffee. Bonbons

To prepare curried eggs, boil as many as are needed until hard, peel, and put them in a ring of boiled rice which has been turned out of a border mould; this rice should be well seasoned with a little chopped parsley mixed with it. Over all should be poured a white sauce flavoured with curry powder, and on the top should be sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese, and the whole lightly browned in the oven.

The Italian chestnuts served with the chicken are to be boiled until the shells can be removed, and then stewed gently in cream until they are tender; the inner skin is not to be removed, as this gives the chestnuts a purple colour and serves to keep them in shape.

The salad is made of the largest plums to be found; they are to be peeled, halved, and laid on lettuce with either French dressing or mayonnaise.

The ice cream is a rich vanilla cream made with the yolks of the eggs; it is served in a very large sunshine cake, – that is, an angels' food with the yolks of the eggs added, – which has been turned upside down and had the entire centre cut out, leaving only a ring of the cake. The cream is put in this in large rounded spoonfuls, and a slice of the cake is cut and served with each. If any of the wedding cake has been kept, some other cream may be used for the luncheon, and the cake, cut in small pieces, passed with it.

HALLOWE'EN LUNCHEON

This luncheon should be carried out in yellow and brown, and if one can have autumn leaves for decoration she will feel that she has the really appropriate thing; still, if these are not to be had, or if the colours have vanished from them, there are other things which will do almost as well. A pumpkin might serve as a centrepiece, with the top off and the centre cut out, filled either with fruit or chestnuts or chrysanthemums, or the latter may be used alone in a tall vase. The little dishes on the table should hold chocolates and plenty of marrons, or candied chestnuts. Few persons know, until they have tried the experiment, how easily these latter dainties are prepared at home; after boiling, peeling, and simmering them in a thick syrup, they are rolled in sugar and laid on oiled paper; a simple way of making what is usually considered an expensive luxury.

Your guest cards should be decorated with sketches of witches or brownies, or lighted candles; or you may purchase some small souvenirs, such as stick-pins with witches, or silver crescents with figures with brooms seated at one end. Cards of burnt leather are also in keeping with the colours of the table and with the idea of the day.

Darken the room and light the gas, but turn it low; get some of the little bonbon boxes in the shape of oranges, or empty orange skins; through an opening at one end, cut eyes, nose, and mouth, as is done in making Jack o' lanterns, drop a little hot wax in the bottom of each, and put in a small lighted candle; the effect is decidedly quaint and pretty when the table is all lighted. If a supper is desired rather than a luncheon, these same suggestions will do for that, and if the menu is too long, the croquettes and sherbet may be omitted.

MENUWhite GrapesTomato BisqueFried Oysters. Sauce TartareChicken Croquettes with PeasQuail. Currant JellyFrench Fried PotatoesGrape Fruit Sherbet in SkinsSweetbreads in Aspic. MayonnaiseWine Jelly with Cream. CakesChocolate

The sherbet is delicious, but rather troublesome to prepare. Small fruit is selected, the pulp removed in spoonfuls without the breaking the sections, and after sweetening well, it is packed in the freezer to stand four hours; meanwhile the skins of the fruit are cut in basket shapes, and when the luncheon is ready, the frozen fruit is heaped in these.

The salad is made by putting cooked sweetbreads in melted beef extract which has been seasoned and had sufficient gelatine added to set it; it is to be put in small moulds and turned out on lettuce with a spoonful of mayonnaise by each. If a simpler salad is wished, one that is surprisingly good is made by putting cold cooked string beans on lettuce, sprinkling with French dressing and serving with mayonnaise.

The wine jelly, while still warm, is to be poured over bits of candied fruit laid in a ring mould. When served, the centre is filled with whipped cream and candied fruit scattered over all.

AN AUTHORS' LUNCHEON

This luncheon is not intended to be eaten by authors, though they are not necessarily barred from participating in it, but it is arranged for some group of clever women who are sufficiently well read to enter into a guessing contest with interest in the books and authors named; or a girls' club may enjoy a trial of their literary knowledge. The luncheon is capable of infinite variation, and any one with a catalogue of books can alter it to suit the requirements of any especial occasion.

Cards should lie at each place with the menu written out as in the first one printed below, with the names of the authors omitted, and before each course, or while one is eaten the next dish is to be guessed, and the author named. A prize might be offered for the most numerous guesses which are correct. The hostess would do well to have the key to the menu by her plate.

The table decorations may be of an ordinary character, such as a bunch of roses in the middle, or a vase of asters or chrysanthemums, and the usual pretty doilies and odd dishes about, or, if laurel is to be had, either the flowers or the leaves may be used to suggest the crowning of genius.

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1. Toilers of the Sea. (Victor Hugo.)

2. A Study in Scarlet. (Doyle.)

3. The Water Babies. (Kingsley.)

4. Between Whiles. (Helen Hunt Jackson.)

5. The Lay of the Last Minstrel. (Scott.)

6. A Dead Secret (Wilkie Collins); and Plain Tales from the Hills. (Kipling.)

7. The Desert of Ice. (Jules Verne.)

8. Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman); and Unleavened Bread. (Grant.)

9. The Snow Image. (Hawthorne.)

10. Over the Teacups. (Holmes.)

11. Opening of a Chestnut Burr. (Roe.)

12. All's Well that Ends Well. (Shakespeare.)