MENU
Cream of Chicken Soup.
Timbales of Cod. Oyster Sauce.
Sweetbread Patties.
Beefsteak à la Stanley. Creamed Potatoes.
Celery Salad. White Mayonnaise.
Cheese Straws.
Whipped Cream Mousse. Snowball Cakes.
Coffee with Whipped Cream.
The beefsteak à la Stanley, said to have been invented by the African discoverer, is an odd dish for luncheon, but it is extremely good, although one who has never eaten it would not be inclined to think so; if served in small pieces is not too heavy for a winter's luncheon.
A thick, tender sirloin steak is broiled and laid on a hot platter on a bed of horse-radish sauce made with the grated root, cream, and white bread crumbs; a layer of fried bananas is put on the meat after it has been seasoned, and over all, a thin layer of the sauce; the root is then grated on top to look like long white ribbons, and the dish is served hot. Of course for a luncheon the steak must be cut in strips before the sauce is put on, or it will be a difficult matter to prevent its becoming mussy in cutting, but if the plates are prepared in the kitchen, the matter will be simple enough. To one who has never attempted this dish a suggestion might be given,—do not condemn it untried. The mousse is simply whipped cream which has been sweetened, flavoured with sherry, filled with candied fruit and nuts cut in small bits, and packed in a melon mould with ice and salt for four or five hours; it should be served on a bed of whipped cream. The snow-ball cakes have been suggested before; they are very pretty with this luncheon.
As this menu is heartier than usual, no sherbet is given, for presumably there is enough to eat without it; if, however, just because it is hearty it is thought necessary to introduce a course of ice to refresh after the meat, an apricot ice made from canned fruit may be added.
AN ANNOUNCEMENT LUNCHEON
In announcing the engagement of a friend it is customary to do so with her permission at a luncheon given to her most intimate friends; she should indeed make up the list with the hostess, limiting it to those who are entitled to hear the news directly. Of course if there are only a few, the luncheon should be an informal one, but if larger, the decorations and menu must be more elaborate.
If none of those present have been entertained at a Valentine luncheon on the order of the one already suggested, that may be followed almost exactly, as everything except the dove over the table is quite as appropriate for this meal as for that; if the guests are the same, then the decorations are to be altered more or less.
Lay the table with lace doilies over pink silk; have several vases of pink roses on the table, and have all the sandwiches, cakes, and ices in heart shapes. Use arrows of stiff silver paper in the ices. Give heart-shaped boxes filled with heart-shaped candies to the guests, unless you care to invest in pretty little stick-pins with gold or silver, or coloured enamel hearts on the end.
An appetising menu would be:—