Or a plain dinner:—
| Sherry. | Oxtail Soup. | Claret. |
| Filet of lobster à la Mazarin. | ||
| Turkey rings with purée of chestnuts. | ||
| Salad of fresh tomatoes. | ||
| Cream tart with meringue. | Cheese. |
This last dinner is perhaps enough for only a small party, but it is very well composed. A much more elaborate menu follows:—
| Oysters on the half-shell. | ||||
| Soup: | ||||
| Consommé royale. | ||||
| Fish: | Rudesheimer. | |||
| Fried smelts, sauce Tartare, | ||||
| Duchess potatoes. | ||||
| Sherry. | Releves: | |||
| Boned capon. | ||||
| Roast ham. | Champagne. | |||
| Madeira, | Entreés: | |||
| Sweetbreads braisé. | ||||
| Quails. | Claret. | |||
| Sorbet au kirsch. | ||||
| Game: | ||||
| Port, | Broiled woodcock, | Chambertin. | ||
| Canvas-back duck. | ||||
| Vegetables: | ||||
| Cauliflower, | Spinach, | French peas, | ||
| Stewed tomatoes. | Château Yquem. | |||
| Dessert: | ||||
| Frozen pudding, | Biscuits Diplomats. | |||
| Meringues Chantilly, | Assorted Cake. | |||
| Fruit. | ||||
| Brandy. | Coffee. | Cordials. | ||
An excellent bill of fare for eight persons, in the month of October, is the following:—
Soup.
Bisque of crayfish.
Fish.
Baked smelts, à la Mentone,
Potato balls, à la Rouenaise,
Ribs of beef braised, stewed with vegetables.
Brussels sprouts.
Roast birds, or quail on toast.
Celery salad.
To make a bisque of crayfish is a very delicate operation, but it is worth trying:—
Have three dozen live crayfish, wash them well, and take the intestines out by pinching the extreme end of the centre fin, when with a sudden jerk the gall can be withdrawn. Put in a stewpan two ounces of butter, with a carrot, an onion, two stalks of celery, two ounces of salted pork, all sliced fine, and a bunch of parsley; fry ten minutes, add the crayfish, with a pint of French white wine and a quart of veal broth. Stir and boil gently for an hour, then drain all in a large strainer, take out the bunch of parsley and save the broth; pick the shells off the crayfish tails, trim them neatly and keep until wanted. Cook separately a pint and a half of rice, with three pints of veal broth, pound the rest of the crayfish and vegetables, add the rice, pound again, dilute with the broth of the crayfish, and add more veal broth if too thick. Pass forcibly through a fine sieve with a wooden presser, put the residue in a saucepan, warm without boiling, and stir all the while with a wooden spoon. Finish with three ounces of table butter, a glass of Madeira wine, and a pinch of cayenne pepper; serve hot in soup tureen with the crayfish tails.