Chafing=dish Appointments.
| With all appliances and means to boot. |
| —Henry IV., iii. I. |
The chafing-dish should always rest upon a tray, as a very slight draught of air, or the expansion of the alcohol when heated, will sometimes cause the flame to flare out and downward, and thus an unprotected tablecloth might be set on fire.
Often a cutlet dish is considered a necessary part of a chafing-dish outfit; but as one of the chief merits of the chafing-dish consists in the possibility of serving a repast the instant it is cooked, there would seem to be a want of propriety in removing the cooked article to a platter and garnishing the dish before serving.
A polished wooden spoon, with long handle and small bowl, is a most convenient utensil to use while cooking the dainty; but the regulation chafing-dish spoon is needed when serving the same. Such a spoon has a broad bowl of silver or aluminum, with rounded end, and a long ebony handle.
The filler is a most convenient article for use, when the lamp needs replenishing with alcohol, but in its absence the alcohol may be turned into a small pitcher and from that into the lamp. A lamp of the average size holds about five tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and this quantity will supply heat for at least half an hour.
Glass, granite or tin measuring-cups, upon which thirds or quarters are indicated, also tea- and tablespoons, are essential for accurate measurements.
Several items are essential to the successful serving of a meal from the chafing-dish. To be a pronounced success, the work must be done noiselessly and gracefully. The preparation of all articles is the same for the chafing-dish as for the common stove; but where the mixing is done at the table, as for a rarebit, the recipe takes on an additional flavor, according to the deftness with which it is done.
Let, then, everything be ready and at hand, before the guests or family assemble at the table. Have the lamp filled and covered, so that it may remain filled. Have all seasonings measured out in a cup. In case the yolks of eggs are to be used, they will not injure, having been beaten beforehand, if they be kept covered. When oysters are to be served, have them washed, freed from bits of shell, drained, and left in a pitcher from which they can be readily poured. The quantity of butter used in the recipes is indicated by tablespoonfuls, and may be measured out beforehand and rolled into dainty balls with butter-hands, a spoonful in each ball.
Bear in mind that the hot-water pan is to be used in all cases where the double boiler would be used, if the cooking were to be done upon the range. For instance, where the recipe calls for milk or cream, except in the making of a sauce, use the bath from the beginning. Also, be careful always to place the blazer in the bath before eggs are added to any mixture. Indeed, the hot-water pan is the one feature of the chafing-dish which it is most important to notice; for on the proper use of the hot-water pan the value of the chafing-dish as an exponent of scientific cookery entirely depends. She who well understands the principles upon which the use of this rests has gained no small insight into the secret of all cookery, be it scientific, economic or hygienic; for a knowledge of the effect of heat at different temperatures, applied to food, is the very foundation-stone upon which all cookery rests.