To give a luncheon is to indulge one's self in the most charming and satisfying form of entertaining. All the dignity of the stately dinner-party is lacking, it is true, but all the delight of informality is present; one has opportunity and leisure to chat, to laugh, and to discuss the dainty and unsubstantial dishes beloved of women. That hostess is to be congratulated who can and does give her friends luncheons all the year around; whatever day she chooses becomes at once a gala day.
But after one has entertained, and entertained no matter how delightfully to her friends and how satisfactorily to herself, there comes a time when for the moment she can think of nothing she has not had. All flowers seem ordinary, all food wearisome. It is for such a day as this that this little book has been prepared. Not that new dishes are offered in a long, fascinating series, for all startling novelties or elaborate concoctions have been purposely eschewed: this is not a cook-book; it makes no such ambitious claim; the possession of a good cook-book, a supply of cooking utensils, a few canned goods and flavouring extracts, and access to a market of ordinary capacities, have all been taken for granted. But the ideas are intended to be practical, the food given in season and within reasonable price, and the recipes, whether given, as is sometimes the case, or merely alluded to as easily to be found, are all sufficiently simple to be undertaken by a very ordinary and inexperienced cook.
It is assumed that all hostesses are in possession of that priceless commodity which our grandmothers called "faculty," that common-sense which more than anything else helps one over domestic boulders; this will suggest that if whitebait is not to be had, canned salmon is quite within reach, and from that useful fish a toothsome dish may easily be prepared. If pim-olas are an unheard-of relish, home-made pickles are by no means to be despised. If ice-cream in rose forms is entirely out of the question, raspberry ice made from one's own preserves or from the fresh fruit in the garden is fully as delicious. To assist one who is willing to take the second choice if she cannot have the first, a substitute has been offered for any course which it is suspected may prove difficult to procure in different parts of the country; an intelligent hostess will easily be able to think of one that is even better than the one named.
Rather elaborate menus are given that they may be adapted to one's need. It is easier to shorten a menu than to lengthen one, and two or three courses dropped from a company luncheon will transform it into one suitable for home use with very little trouble. If one menu is not quite what one wants, she can take another; if something more elaborate still is desired than what is given already, she can take a course from some luncheon farther on in the book; as much variety as possible has been sought on purpose, that there may be opportunity for just this choice of dishes.
The idea of observing holidays with luncheons is only a suggestion; any one of the luncheons may, with slightly altered decorations, be given at any time during the month. Doubtless every hostess can take the fancies given and work them out to her more complete satisfaction; it is intended that she should do so, for this is not meant to be a complete compendium on luncheon given; it is only a "Little Book of Suggestions," nothing more. And now to something practical.
The principal factor in a successful luncheon is a pretty table; that remains in one's memory after all the details of the luncheon proper have been forgotten.
FOR LUNCHEON USE. FOR LUNCHEON USE.
ANOTHER STYLE OF DOILY. ANOTHER STYLE OF DOILY.
HONITON LACE DOILY. HONITON LACE DOILY.
No cloth is used nowadays, but pretty doilies are laid on the bare surface; where one has been so unfortunate as to have the appearance of her table ruined by the defacing marks of hot dishes, she often refuses to dispense with the table-cloth, yet if she knew what a very simple and inexpensive thing it is to have a fresh polish put on, she would doubtless send for the furniture dealer at once; even without the aid of that individual she can improve matters by applying a purchased polish, rubbing it in well with a flannel cloth; indeed, rubbing is the secret of a handsome table top. Then, too, she probably does not consider that when her doilies are in place, very little of the wood is exposed to the critical eye, while in that little is reflected the flowers and lights which give a double brilliance to the decorations. But if one is incorrigible and insists on a cloth in spite of all persuasions, then the next-best thing is to have a pretty one, one with openwork or lace, or at least with a handsome fringe, which will give some effect of elaboration. But doilies are so pretty, so much prettier than any cloth, no matter how beautiful; they come in all sizes and at all prices, from the exquisite Honiton lace ones, which are almost too delicate to use, on to the combined linen and lace which are not expensive; from the cobwebs of drawn work from Mexico, which look as though they would fall to pieces if handled and which really wear a lifetime, to the plain squares of hemstitched linen, which are pretty enough for any table and can be made at home by the skilful needlewoman. One who can make even simple fancy work to-day can keep herself in lovely things for the luncheon table with small cost except in time. The same thing is to be said of the centrepiece: one can have anything almost, but it should be all in white. There are times when one wishes an embroidered square or circle, but ordinarily white lace is the best choice, for the effect of the flowers is always better if no colour is mingled with their own. As to the flowers themselves, they should not be over-elaborate. Of course a woman of unlimited means may expend a vast sum on a basket of orchids or some other fashionable flowers for her table, but while it is desirable to have a pretty effect, all undue gorgeousness is out of harmony with the presumably informal meal. A woman who plans her table decorations herself will probably evolve something more original and more pleasing than the hackneyed result a florist would attain, should she summon him to her aid. A quantity of roses lightly grouped in a bowl or arranged in a basket has a grace which is not found in a merely conventional arrangement. There are artistic bunches of wild flowers which give delight whenever the eye falls on them, and clusters of ferns which on a hot summer's day make one feel cool and comfortable. A pot of growing violets is a simple thing, but it is infinitely better than a "design" from a greenhouse. No one should despair if she cannot have a professional to help her arrange the flowers for her luncheon table; let her give thanks.
There are combinations of flowers which give prettier effect than does one flower alone, such as jonquils and violets, or white hyacinths, or mignonette and Roman hyacinths, or scarlet carnations and white roses. A little study will enable the hostess to plan something unique and attractive. Indeed, her personal touch is needed nowhere so much as here, since she can stamp her decorations with her individuality.
Besides the flowers, a decorative effect is given to the table by the small dishes of silver, or silver-gilt, and cut glass, which stand around the centrepiece and hold salted nuts, bonbons, almonds, candied ginger, crystallised fruits, and often peeled radishes, celery hearts, and jelly as well. These are seen in silver with a stem three inches high for the daintier things, but any pretty bonbon dishes are correct form, whatever they are.
After these things are in place, the silver is next to be considered: luckily the fashion of displaying all one happens to own is no longer considered in good taste; it was always rather vulgar and savoured of the shop, and no one can regret that the fancy has gone by. All that is needed now is the oyster fork, or, if fruit is to be the first course, a spoon or fork on the right, then the soup spoon, and either one or two knives as will be needed; on the left either two or three forks; the handsome dessert or ice cream spoon may lie across the top of the plate. There are always changes going on in table silver, yet good things are really never out of date. For instance, bouillon spoons have perfectly circular bowls at present, yet if one does not happen to own a set of these, teaspoons do quite as well to use with small cups or bowls. So with salad forks; the tines grow longer or shorter from season to season, yet any fork may be used for salad, whether intended for that particular course or not. Ordinary ice-cream spoons or forks are modified also; sometimes one sees a combination of the two, or a spade-shaped spoon is pronounced the only proper thing. Since every year brings out something new, the only safe rule for the housekeeper to observe is to buy things which are not extreme, and then use them with an easy mind, whatever be the fancies of the day.
The custom of having a decorated service plate at each place is such a good one that it is likely to remain long in vogue. It is intended to hold the oyster plate, the plate with the bouillon bowl if the latter has no saucer, and the plate with the first hot course, after which it is removed with the one that has been used. When the guests come to the table this service plate holds a roll folded in a napkin.
Small bowls with two handles are used for the bouillon or soup at luncheon, but if one does not have them, an ordinary cup of rather good size is substituted. The plates used are ordinarily of rather smaller size than those seen at dinner, as the dishes are of a lighter character, and the handsomest are reserved for the fingerbowls, which are put on the table with the bonbons and coffee only, unless the meal begins with fruit, when they appear twice.
The question of lighting the table is one that often puzzles young housekeepers or novices at entertaining. "Shall we use candles at luncheon?" they ask, bewildered at the seeming absurdity of the idea. At first thought it may seem that is a foolish thing to do, yet there is good reason for having them at certain times. In the city, especially in winter, the dining-room is apt to be dark and therefore gloomy, and the cheerful glow of candles is both attractive and hospitable. Besides, they are extremely decorative: indeed, one sees them unlighted sometimes at formal luncheons when the day is sunny, used entirely for the colour they give the table. On the other hand, they should not be recklessly and indiscriminately used, for there are days when they would be ridiculously out of place, as in the summer, with open windows and a flood of brilliant light in the room. They are also out of place at a very simple meal to which only a few friends sit down, but they are in keeping with a rather elaborate company luncheon, and on a table set for such a meal they are both beautiful and appropriate.
There are other pretty ways of lighting the table besides using candles; there are devices to be used where electricity is available, such as lovely little electric candles with rose shades which give the effect of real flowers; then there are varieties of lamps, especially the so-called "fairy lamp," a pretty thing which is very practical as well as attractive; there are also combinations of the lamp and candle, which have in their favour the fact that they do not take fire and destroy their shades. But nothing is ever prettier than the old-fashioned wax candle in white or colour, in silver candlesticks, with or without shades. Nothing gives such reflections on the dishes, the silver and glass, and the mirror-like surface of polished wood as their flickering lights. If one owns several of these, she has the foundation for endless variety. She may group them in twos, or stand them singly about the table, or she may buy a branched top and convert one into a candelabrum, or she may arrange several candelabra in the same way.
As to shades, a clever woman can always keep herself supplied with prettier ones than the shops can afford, provided she is skilful with the needle and paint brush. She can have them of plain pasteboard with a border in colours and a pattern of painted flowers, or a conventional design. Or, she can buy dozens of silk or cotton rose petals and make really beautiful things with them. Or, if she has plenty of money and no time to spare, she can buy almost anything, from simple shades of paper roses or chrysanthemums to imported arrangements made by artistic fingers in silk and flowers together. Unless, however, she is prepared to buy a new set quite frequently, she will always invest in one or two more than she needs, lest some day she finds one burned and none to match it in the shops.
Guest cards are really necessary,—primarily, in order to avoid confusion in seating a number of persons in a short time, but with a secondary reason for their existence which is not to be overlooked: they enable the hostess to seat together those who have most in common and who will start the ball of conversation rolling, and keep it going. Many a meal has proved stupid and tiresome to some one because she sat by an uncongenial fellow-guest; a hostess shows her tact—or her lack of it—by the way she plans the seats of those who are to surround the table.
As to favours, they are in no way essential; they are suggested here merely because they afford some opportunity for originality, and serve to break the ice at the very beginning of a meal. They are not for the older woman, who will doubtless despise them, but for the girl-hostess who is gay enough still to care for whatever raises a laugh. They should depend for their worth not on any intrinsic value, for they should have none, but on their cleverness, their appropriateness; those mentioned are only "suggestions;" every hostess should from these go on to others which have more to them.
Just a word of warning as to the menu. Do not try and transform into a "function" what should be only a light and pleasant luncheon. The moment that is done, and a demand is made for extreme thought and preparation on the part of the hostess, and formality on the part of the guests, that moment the whole affair becomes a weariness to the flesh and spirit, and the charm is gone. There is no limit to the number of courses a hostess may offer if she really sets out to show what she can do if she tries; every year gastronomic possibilities increase, and an ambitious woman may pile patÉs on croquettes, and salads on sherbets, and creams on top of everything else ad libitum, if she so wishes. But a luncheon should be a luncheon, not a cooking-school display. It should be delightful to the eye, delicious to the palate, sufficiently elaborate to show respect to one's guests, and yet simple enough to be in good taste; restraint rather than ostentatious display should give the meal the refining touch which is needed to make it really complete.
