The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 24, 1901, Page 17

> ' d rts of thine! er's snow, ghts that glow. est bliss 2 things T miss. Higginson, e known the time when Lospitable instinct strong upon us; we wanted show our thankfulness for benefits received and our appre- for troubles averted, but our purse To others similarly situated the the following menu is suggested, as leaving no bitter taste of unpald bills in its wake: THANKSGIVING DINNER FOR SIX PEO- PLE. CASH, f2. Cream of Celery Soup, Croutons..... Salted Peanuts, Home-Made Pickles. . Chicken Pie, or Chicken Fricassce, or Roast Spare Rib, or Roast Duck.. Mashed Potatoes, Turnips . Celery, Cranberries 4 10 15 60 10 Coffee ‘I'nis leaves a conungent rund or 1z cents that may be used for bread or two or three pretty chrysanthemums for the cen- ter of the table. THe estimated cost of the various dishes has included the actual cost of seasonings, milk, etc., and in thelr preparation. Everything is home-made, even to the salting of the peanuts., The cheese is State cheese, not imported, and the chickens are fowls. The inferior piecés of the bunch of celery are used for the soup. The cost of the dinner may be reduced still further by omitting the cel- erz and celery soup and substituting THE SUNDAY CALL. dried pea soup, spised. In one of the suburban towns a year or two ago several ghbors who were the best of fricnds dccided to have a co- operative dinner. TLis not on the score of economy, but for soctability, This proved a great success financially, from a labor-saving point of view and, more than all, for the jolly good time it afford- ed both the older peoplc and the children. At the old homestcad where the dinner was served the turkey was roasted, the vegetables cooked and the coffee made. One housekeeper whose bread and pastry had achleved more than a local reputa-. tion brought the iheaten loaves, the golden pumpkin pies and the flaky cran- berry tarts to grace the feast. A second furnished a big pan of luscious scalloped oysters, with crispy tringed celery and home-made jelly. A third, who had in- herited her gift for dainty cookery from a line of famous Dutch hausfraus, brought a delectable salad, a store of wondrous home-made pickles and cakes that would melt in your mouth, while a fourth—a bachelor maid—supplied the fragrant coffee and the salted almonds. Home-made bonbons and artistic menus and name cards were the gift of another, while all brought havpy faces, contented hearts and a store cf overflowing good humor, that made the co-operative diffher a function long to be pleasantly remem- bered. ’ In arranging the Thanksgiving table do not go to the absurdity of using ribbon decorations, which really have no raison detre on any table. The snowy linen cloth or the polished mahogany or oak need no such fictitious and unmeaning accessories as bows and loops of ribbon to enhance their attractiuns. If flowers are used golden chrysanthemums, dark red asters or stalks of scarlet salvia, the gifts of the rich autumn, are always appro- priate. Fruit makes always an effective which 1s not to be de- " center for the Thanksgiving table, and one truer to tradition than flowers. Ar- range it on a low glass or silver dish, placing a reflector under it if you have one. Take pains with the color effects. Select the rosiest, yellowest apples and burnish until you car see your reflection. Choose the yellow brown pears and the rich purple and white grapes, and these, with the scarlet of your radishes, the crisp green and white of your celery and the rich brown of turkey, will give you all the color you need. If the dinner is served in the afternoon, as tas the Thanksgiving dinner of our ancestors, you will need no artificial light. If lights must be used candles are the best means ot lighting, as they do not destroy the pure atmosphere of the room, If the cooking of turnips, onions and so forth has left the least suggestion of their preparation in the din!nl-mom pour a few drops of ofl of lavender in a vase or bowl and half fill with hot water. This gives a delightful freshness to the room and is a valuable expedient to bear in mind in cases when the homse is prone /‘,7" & Oyster Soup. Roast Turkey—Sage “Stufing.” Mashed Potatoes. Creamed Onions. | Baked Isdian Pudding. Butternuts. Hickory Nuts. Coffee. - Geruine Qld-Fashiomed Dinmnze. £ (As Given at Grandmother's, 1830 to 1575.) Home-made Pickles. . Turnips. Succotash. Cold Slaw. New York State Cheese. N - Calery. Currant Jelly. Giblet Gravy. Chicken Potpie. | Hubbard Squash. Cider Apple Sauce. Pumpkin Pie. Pears. Cider. Apples. Grapes. Pr;servcd Ginger. Thin Brown Consomme. Mashed Potatoes. . Up-ic-Date Thanksgiving Dinnge. Oyster Cocktails Served in Grape Fruit. Bread Sticks. Roast Turkey—Oyster Stirfiing. Glazed Sweet Potatoes. Lemon Ginger Sherbet. RPN e L S ST S Bread. Salted Almonds—Mints. - Radishes. Cranberry Sauce. Fringed Celery. Roast Quail. Watercress. Hominy. -Lettuce Salad. Roquefort Cheese. ‘Wafers. Pumpkin Pie. Mince Pie. Hickory Nuts. . Butternuts. « Stuffed Dates. | Apples. Pears. Dates. Coffee. K e to get stuffy and doors and windows can- not be thrown open at the last moment. If you want a novelty for your finger bowls try the Japanese water flowers, which can be procured at the Chinese and Japanese storcs. Just as the bowls are placed at the covers drop one in each bowl, when they will at once expand and change into flowers and ouler designs. A most deliclous sauce to accompany game, roast or broiled birds or poultry is made by thoroughly mixing a heaping tablespoonful of dry mustard with a glass of currant jelly until neither can be per- ceived from the other. This was a fa- vorite sauce with Miss Juliet Corson, who declared that canvasback especially should never be served without it. Some men seem born to carve turkey. Others have the distinction thrust upon them, willy-nilly; while still a third class (happily 2 minority) insist upon delegat- ing that delicate operation to their wives ‘who thereby prove themselves much the better half of the twain. In order to in- sure success, there are several things to be borne in mind; a keen edge to the carving knife, a working and intimate knowledge of his turkeyship’'s anatomy, a platter large enough to allow for the play of knife and bird, and a conscience void of offense that will give a steady mnerve. These requisies maintained, the carving of a fine, plump, well browned turkey is a sight to be thankful for. Hav- ing personally seen to it that his blade is keen before dinner is announced, the deft carver will plunge his fork Into the breast of the fowl, having the neck end 10 the left. Here he must firmly hold his bird until its bones are broken. First separate the two thigh joints from the body, passing the knife between the legs and the body, pressing the former out- ward and dividing the joints. Next carve the wings from the shoulder joints, after which the breast is to be sliced down- ward. This accomplished, it can be re- moved whole, then the ‘“oysters” dis- lodged from the back and the drum- sticks separated from the thighs. The dressing, of course, is removed with a spoon. If you do not care for oyster or chest- nut stuffing, try this of rice which proved its popularity at the Rice Kitchen at the Pan-American Exposition: Brown a chop- ped onion in some butter and mix with it two cupfuls of boiled rice and one cupful of bread crumbs which have been mois- tened in a cupful of milk. Season with salt, pepper, sage or other sweet herbs as preferred, and add half a pound of sausage meat chopped fine. Stir all the ingredients until thoroughly mixed, then stuff the prepared turkey and secure the opénings. To prepare the radish flowers for the table, select the smooth, round, hard ones. ‘Wash, trim off the threadlike root, but leave about an inch of the green stalk and leaves, which is really the choice Dbit of the radish. With a sharp knife cut from the tip down about half way to the stem, making six cuts and merely through the skin. Slip the point of the knife un- der these petals and press back slightly; then put in ice water to open out, until ready to serve. Drain thoroughly and ar- range in a pretty, low dish. An excellent stuffing for ducks Is made by adding a half cupful of peanuts rolled A L ELFORD SECY. NS, STATR HOUSEHOLD ECONOMICS fine to the ordinary bread dressing. A little manila vegetable hand brush will be found most convenient for cleans- ing celery. Scrub each stalk lengthwise, rinse thoroughly, then with a sharp knife scrape off all rusty lines and lay on the ice until ready to serve. A celery cream soup can be made from the outer and tougher stalks of the celery heads, which are unfit for the table. - Take three stalks (which should be the equivalent of two bunches and must be bleached) wash well, trim off the sreen leaves, cut into small pleces and boil slowly for three-quarters of an hour in a quart of water or of water and white stock in equal proportions. Strain the celery and water in which it was cooked through a puree sieve, pressing the pulp of the vegetable through. Add a quart of milk, and when the mixture comes to the boiling point thicken with two large tablespoonfuls of flour mixed with the same amount of butter and thinned with a little of the beiling soup. Stir steadily for eight or ten minutes after adding the thickening, and season with salt and pep- per. It may be made still richer by the addition of the yolks of two eggs beaten in a cup with a little milk or cream. Draw the kettle to the back of the stove, add enough of the hot soup to the mixturs to heat it and prevent its curdling, then stir quickly into the remainder of the soup. Serve with croutons cut from stale bread into small hearts, circles or dice and browned in the oven. In place of egg thickening for celery soup, many think that the addition of one- quarter of a cupful of almonds chopped to a paste Is a great improvement to cel- . ery soup. Sorbets or Roman punch are the ices properly served in the midst of the din- ner. If game is offered the ice follows the roast and precedes the game. Sor- bets, like punch, are merely iced or only partially frozen. They should be of a smooth, even cream-like consistency. The sorbet may be served in the dainty cups of crystal made for the purpose, or in little impromptu cups of lemon or orange 1ind. Set on a pretty china plate. Can- died rose leaves or violets are sometimes scattered over these ices. A most deliclous lemon ice may be made in this way: To one quart of milk add the juice of six lemons and a cup and one- half of sugar, or more if need be. Freeze at once. Do not be alarmed if it curdles; it will come all right as it freezes. This may be flavored with ginger if preferred, or colored a delicate pink by adding a small quantity of strawberry, raspberry or cranberry juice. EVOLUTION OF OPERA HAT. HE opera hat,” said the manager of fashionable hatting establishment, ‘was formerly made almost exclu- sively of merino. There were a few men who wore opera hats of ribbed silk, which they had made to order at a cost of $12 each, the cost of the merino hat being $7; and there were also a few, these mostly older men, who wore opera hats of black satin, which llkewise they had made to order. August Belmont wore a satin opera hat. “The merino hat, however, was long the most generally worn. and so it remained —and practically unchanged except that it had come to be finished with satin on the under side of the brim—until some eight or ten years ago. Then men took to wearing silk hats to the opera, and the distinctive opera hat fell into disuse. Men took for an opera hat their oldest silk hat, which was as goed as any for this service, for, tucked under a seat or into the corner of a box, it was sure to be sub- jected to hard usage. ““This fancy for the silk hat as an opera hat lasted two or three years, and then, about seven years ago. the opera hat was again restored to full favor, which it still holds. But while it went out, so to speak, in merino it came back after that brief period of collapse In ribbed silk, of which material, once regarded as a sort of lux~ ury in this use, by far the greater num- ber of the opera hats worn are now ! |