Cheeses of the pineapple and Eadam varieties should be cut so that the top will fit again closely and exclude the air. To preserve perfectly a section cut from any large cheese, it should be kept wrapped in a napkin or piece of cheese cloth wrung out of cider vinegar. Rhine wine will answer the same purpose, but the vinegar will not leave an objectionable trace. Cheese should always be served on a folded napkin, for the reason that it is more or less oily and looks pleasanter on the napkin than on the plate.
The crisp green salad, with its accompaniment
of a red or golden cheese, is one of the most agreeable courses of the dinner, and no unsightly crumbs should be left on the cloth before it is served.
A carving-cloth should not be folded on the table. The corners may be turned deftly together and the cloth removed to a tray on which it may be carried to the pantry, to be folded later.
When a number are at table, only a part of the plates should be put before the carver at one time; but the others must be ready on a near side-table.
By learning to make dainty paper frills for lamb chops or for the bone of a ham, and by studying simple garnishings of fresh parsley, celery tips, and lemon, pleasant effects may be produced and a reputation for taste and skill acquired. The same dish may be served in a variety of ways, one of which may tempt the appetite where others have failed. Instead of serving chicken salad in a plain dish at luncheon, it may be put in cups made by removing
the pulp from solid red tomatoes, and each tomato placed on a bed of green lettuce leaves.
One is always pleased by a novelty, that is, after the more substantial part of a meal is finished, and a waitress who becomes an artist in her especial line may not only give a great deal of pleasure to others, but keep herself from getting tired of the daily routine. If she wishes to raise her work above the level of mere drudgery, she will study to see how she can improve each day upon the work of the day before.
Nothing should ever be done because Mrs. X’s butler does so and so, or because Mrs. Y’s maid says she saw it done like this in England. Every good rule has a good reason for its foundation; every rule which has not a good reason for being should be replaced by a better one.
There are good reasons for serving the lady of the house first, although this rule is often waived to do honor to the distinguished guest