M. F. H.

St. Louis, 1876.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
[Setting the Table and Serving the Dinner][13]
[The Dinner Party][27]
[Cooking as an Accomplishment][30]
[Breakfast][33]
[Lunch][36]
[Gentlemen’s Suppers][39]
[Evening Parties][40]
[Something about Economy][40]
[Directions and Explanations][43]
[Cooking Utensils][51]
[Bread, and Breakfast Cakes][63]
[Tea][76]
[Coffee][76]
[Chocolate][78]
[Cocoa][78]
[Soup][78]
[Fish][99]
[Shell-fish][113]
[Sauces][119]
[Beef][129]
[Veal][146]
[Sweet-breads][152]
[Mutton][155]
[Lamb][159]
[Pork][160]
[Poultry][166]
[Geese, Ducks, and Game][180]
[Vegetables][190]
[Shells, or Coquilles][206]
[Potting][208]
[Macaroni][209]
[Eggs][212]
[Salads][219]
[Fritters][229]
[Pastry][232]
[Canning][244]
[Preserves][248]
[Pickles and Catchups][257]
[Cheese][262]
[Sweet Sauces for Puddings][266]
[Puddings and Custards][269]
[Bavarian Creams][282]
[Desserts of Rice][286]
[Wine Jellies][290]
[Cake][294]
[Candies][305]
[Ices][306]
[Cookery for the Sick][315]
[Some Dishes for “Baby”][334]
[How to Serve Fruits][336]
[Beverages][339]
[Suitable Combination of Dishes][342]
[Serving of Wines][345]
[To Prepare Company Dinners][349]
[English and French Glossary][359]
[General Index][365]

PRACTICAL COOKING,
AND
DINNER GIVING.

SETTING THE TABLE AND SERVING THE DINNER.

An animated controversy for a long time existed as to the best mode of serving a dinner. Two distinct and clearly defined styles, known as the English and Russian, each having its advantages and disadvantages, were the subject of contention. It is perhaps fortunate that a compromise between them has been so generally adopted by the fashionable classes in England, France, and America as to constitute a new style, which supersedes, in a measure, the other two.

In serving a dinner à la Russe, the table is decorated by placing the dessert in a tasteful manner around a centre-piece of flowers. This furnishes a happy mode of gratifying other senses than that of taste; for while the appetite is being satisfied, the flowers exhale their fragrance, and give to the eye what never fails to please the refined and cultivated guest.