Gala-Day Luncheons: A Little Book of Suggestions

August

Luncheons in this hot month should be served as in July, on the porch or out of doors if possible; if that is out of the question, at least the dining-room should be rather dark, and there should be some suggestion of coolness in the luncheon, either in the decoration or in the menu. During this month, when students are at home for their vacations, one may wish to give a college luncheon. Of course, if the guests are all of one mind and can unite in lauding the same Alma Mater, it is an easy thing to so decorate the table as to give unalloyed pleasure, but where two or more colleges are represented it is not so simple. To take some of the most prominent ones, let us have first

A YALE LUNCHEON

Have a large bowl of cornflowers in the centre of the table, and smaller bowls at either end, if the table is oblong; if round or square, have four of the smaller bowls around the central one. If the college men who are present are especially interested in athletics, or if there has been any important victory over some rival, it will be a delicate attention which will be appreciated by the guests if such a fact is remembered. If, for instance, Yale has just been victorious in baseball, decorate with bats, stacking them at intervals on the table; they may be purchased at toy shops in any desired size; those about four or five inches high are most easily grouped. The sandwiches may be tied with blue ribbons and the cards can have sketches of caps and gowns, or pipes, or trophies of some sort. The ices may be served in round boxes with covers on which is the college seal, and the outside may be covered with wide blue satin ribbon which will completely hide the cardboard. These can be either purchased or made at home, and they will serve as souvenirs. As the appetites of college men are proverbially vigorous, it will be wise to provide a substantial meal.

The Spanish omelette is made by stewing tomatoes, green peppers, and onion, all cut in bits, until they are quite thick; then an omelette is made and this mixture is folded in; it is very appetising, and men are sure to like it. The cauliflower is cooked, broken into small pieces, put in paper cases or in one large dish, seasoned well, and grated cheese and cream sauce are put in layers through it, the cheese on top, and the whole is browned in the oven. The sherbet may be made of the juice of any grape that is obtainable, but it is very pretty to use Catawbas, and colour the ice slightly green; if it is desired that the sherbet should be darker, use bottled grape juice, adding a little lemon to bring out the flavour. It should be served in sherbet cups with a spray of grape leaves under each on the plate.

The salad is made by removing a strip of skin from each banana, scooping out the fruit, cutting it in pieces, adding as much celery or apple and half as much of cut up English walnut meats which have been blanched, and covering the whole with French dressing, and returning to the skins, heaping it a little in them. Put one of these on a leaf of lettuce for each person; nasturtium sandwiches are pretty on a plate decorated with their own blossoms.

If the boxes are used for the cream it must not be coloured, and a plain mousse may be better than anything else; if the boxes are not used, the mousse may be flavoured with pistache, coloured green and served on a bed of whipped cream, with chopped angelia or pistache nuts scattered over it. For a

HARVARD LUNCHEON

lay broad crimson satin ribbons across the table at right angles, and then lay the table with doilies over the ribbon as if there were none there. Have a bowl of American Beauty roses in the centre, or put the flowers in a fancy basket. Or, if it should happen that the men present are especially happy over some rowing victory, put the roses in a long narrow boat in the centre, and have oars stacked at intervals on the table. Use the same menu as for the Yale luncheon. For a

PRINCETON LUNCHEON

use quantities of the yellow, black-eyed daisies which are common in our fields. A large football might stand in the centre of the table, open at the top, with the daisies filling it, and shallow bowls of them may stand on the table. The bonbon dishes may be filled with yellow and chocolate bonbons, and the same sort of cards used as were suggested for the Yale luncheon, unless sketches of Princeton buildings are preferred.

ROWING FAVOUR. ROWING FAVOUR.

If the guests are from several colleges, the best plan is to have no distinctively college colours on the table, but to confine one's self to the use of athletic symbols for decoration which are common to all. Golden-rod might be in a row-boat, for instance, and oars, base balls, bats, and footballs used as favours. For a hot-weather luncheon, nothing makes a prettier table than a quantity of pond lilies, used in some simple way. As they are common in August, you might give

A POND-LILY LUNCHEON

Fill a shallow dish with water, and put several lilies with their leaves on top, but not so closely but that the water will show between them. Hide the outside of the dish with an arrangement of the lilies and their leaves, being careful not to have it look stiff. Cut your guest-cards in the shape of open lilies, and paint them, writing the name of the guest across their face. Have your bonbons all green and white, and use plain white, or green and white china for serving the meal as far as you can, for the sake of preserving the cool look of the table. The ice cream may be in the pond-lily flowers, prepared as were the peonies in the June luncheon. If the lilies are plenty, use them in bowls about the parlours and halls, to carry out the idea of the day.

There is no sherbet in this menu, as the frozen salad takes its place. This is made by cutting fresh tomatoes into bits, mashing them, seasoning and freezing them, stirring occasionally to make them smooth; after they are stiff they must be scraped from the dasher, pressed down, and allowed to stand for an hour. They are to be cut in round spoonfuls, laid on a few lettuce leaves, and mayonnaise passed with them.

The ice cream may be either a white or a pistache cream, and the water lilies should be treated as were the peonies, the heart of the flower removed and a piece of waxed paper laid in the centre with the cream on it.

This same idea of coolness may be also well carried out in a luncheon in which ferns are made to play their part.

A FERN LUNCHEON

FOR A FERN LUNCHEON. FOR A FERN LUNCHEON.

The house should be filled with ferns, in the fireplaces, in the window seats, in the parlours, and in the halls. In the dining-room the table may be laid either or without a cloth, and a large shallow pan or tray put in the centre; if a tray is used, it should have a layer of absorbent cotton on it. The edge of this dish must be concealed by tiny growing ferns; in the dish should be large pieces of ice, piled in an irregular mound, and very small ferns put in the crevices. The ice will give out enough coolness to perceptibly affect the atmosphere of the room, and the combination of the ice and ferns is a pretty one. A few days before the luncheon some ferns may be pressed, and these may be laid on the table if it is so large as to admit of more decoration; the cards may also have a little fern pasted on each.

An appetising menu might be:—

The peaches are not to be frozen, but kept on the ice after they are halved, peeled, and sprinkled with sugar, until they are thoroughly chilled. They may have a small spoonful of whipped cream served with them, if that combination is liked. The clams are prepared exactly as is lobster, except that they must be kept for a little longer in the sauce in order to just cook them through. They are to be served in ramekins. The tomatoes are to have the inside removed without breaking the skin, and this is mixed with bread crumbs and seasoning, returned to the tomatoes, and baked.

The salad is made by filling small individual moulds with almonds and bouillon jelly made of melted extract of beef, seasoning, and dissolved gelatine; the nuts should be cut into strips and arranged in a pattern with a little of the aspic before the moulds are filled. A stiff mayonnaise is to be served with this.

The ice cream is particularly delicious, though it seems very odd to one who is not familiar with it. A very rich cream is made with the yolks of five eggs added to a quart of cream, and when done it is put in large spoonfuls in halved, small, and spicy muskmelons. The two eaten together are a decided improvement on either alone.

There is really no reason for having sherbet with such a menu as this, for two cold dishes are already on the bill of fare, but if the day is extremely warm, it may be thought best to have it, even if it is acknowledged to be quite unnecessary.

A POVERTY LUNCHEON

Poverty luncheons are usually arranged in a series, every one of eight or ten hostesses giving in turn a meal to the rest which must cost exactly a specified price, the smaller the better. Usually two dollars and a half is selected as the proper amount for ten persons, and the rivalry between the luncheon-givers as to which one shall have the most elaborate meal for the price makes these luncheons very entertaining. Of course, by keeping everything down to the lowest possible sum, one can have any number of courses, but it is better to have less and have it fairly substantial. The prices of all the food, even to the butter, must be written on a card at each plate, and the flowers or other decorations are extras.

A YALE LUNCHEON

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HARVARD LUNCHEON

PRINCETON LUNCHEON

A POND-LILY LUNCHEON

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A FERN LUNCHEON

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A POVERTY LUNCHEON

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