FRUITS

No. 1. Oranges. Cut off the tops of the oranges. Scrape out the pulp and draw a narrow ribbon through each top, passing the two ends through with a bodkin and tying them on the under side. Drawing through the ribbon soils it. Tie a bow on top.

Loosen the pulp of the orange, using a silver knife, so it can be eaten with a spoon. Add a little sugar if necessary, and a teaspoonful of sherry, if desired.

No. 2. Salpicon of fruits. Place in the center of a glass plate some pieces of the pulp of an orange or grape-fruit, or both mixed together. Arrange around them a double row of white grapes cut in halves and with the seeds removed.

Salpicon of fruits in glasses. This is a mixture of fruits such as grape-fruit, grapes, oranges, bananas, and pineapple, or any combination convenient. Divide the oranges and grape-fruit into sections, then carefully take off the skins and remove the seeds. Leave the pulp in large pieces; add enough sugar to sweeten and a little sherry if desired. Cut the grapes in halves and remove the seeds. Place the mixture in individual glasses and add two or three candied cherries to each glass.

Grape-fruit. Prepare grape-fruit as directed above. Sweeten it and make it very cold. Place it in individual glasses with a candied cherry in the center. At the last moment add a teaspoonful of cracked ice to each glass.

Strawberries. Press powdered sugar into a small cup or glass to mold it. Turn the sugar into the center of a dish and arrange around it carefully selected strawberries. Leave the hulls on the berries and serve in individual portions.

Individual pineapples. Cut small pineapples in two. Cut the ends so the pieces will stand straight. Cut out the centers and tear the pulp into pieces, then return it to the cups formed by the skins. Sweeten with powdered sugar; add a tablespoonful of sherry, if desired, to each portion. Let them stand a little while to extract the juice. At the moment of serving add a teaspoonful of cracked ice to each cup. Serve as a first course at luncheon, or before the game at dinner.

A variety called strawberry pines are best suited for this dish. They are sometimes so small that a whole one may be used as one portion.

Currants. Make a mound of sugar as directed for strawberries. Place around the sugar bunches of cherry currants, as in No. 1, or pile them on grape leaves as in No. 2. White and red currants may be placed in the same dish. Serve in individual portions as first course at luncheon or at breakfast.

Frosted currants. Stem large cherry currants. Put them in a dish with a quantity of granulated sugar and shake them together. The moisture of the currants will cause enough sugar to adhere to completely cover them. Turn them off the sugar and serve at once before the sugar loses its dryness. Serve them on leaves in individual portions, or pass them as a first course at luncheon or breakfast. This is a very pretty way of serving currants.

Muskmelon. The muskmelon should be very ripe and very cold. Cut the melons in two and serve with cracked ice in each half. If the melon is not too large serve a half as one portion. Serve on individual plates, or pass as first course for breakfast, luncheon, or dinner. Pass salt and sugar.

For other arrangements of fruits see “Century Cook Book,” page 529.

CLAM OR OYSTER COCKTAILS

Use small Little Neck clams or small Blue Point oysters.

Mix the sauces and let the clams or oysters stand in them for an hour before serving.

Serve in small glasses as a first course.

Cut hard-boiled eggs in two lengthwise, using a thin-bladed, sharp knife. Have the eggs boiled twenty-five minutes so the yolks will be crumby.

Remove the yolks, mash them, and mix them with mayonnaise and the trimmings of the anchovies. Just before serving, fill the white halves with the yolk mixture, covering the whole top, heaping it in the middle and leaving a rough surface. Trim anchovies to the right length and lay two of them crossed over the top of each egg. Set each piece on a round of bread sautÉd in butter. Slice a little piece off the bottom of the egg to make it stand firm.

Serve on individual plates.

Anchovies preserved in oil are put up in small bottles and can be purchased from a grocer.

HEART-SHAPED SALMON CANAPÉS

Cut very light bread into slices one quarter of an inch thick. Stamp them with a cutter into heart shapes. Spread them thinly on both sides with butter and put them in the oven to brown; or sautÉ them in butter. Let them cool, then lay on each one a slice of Nova Scotia smoked salmon, cut as thin as possible. Place around the edges of the heart a border of chopped white of hard-boiled eggs, and a little crumbed yolk just at the upper point of the heart, making a round spot. The salmon must not be entirely covered with egg, so that the hearts may show three colors. Serve on individual plates, with a small piece of parsley at the rounded end.

Nova Scotia salmon can be bought at delicatessen stores.

Cut fresh bread into slices quarter of an inch thick, then into rounds two and a half inches in diameter. Spread the rounds of bread with butter, season with a little salt, pepper, and mustard.

Split and trim the anchovies to uniform length and arrange them on the bread in rosette form. Fill the spaces between the anchovy fillets with the chopped white and the crumbed yolk of hard-boiled eggs and make a border around the bread with the white. Use a little chopped parsley in the decoration.

For other canapÉs, see “Century Cook Book,” page 368.

CANAPÉS OF CAVIARE

Cut very light bread into slices quarter of an inch thick, then into rounds or squares two inches across. SautÉ them in butter on one side. When they are cold spread them with a thin covering of caviare moistened with a little oil and lemon juice. Place on the top of each one a very thin slice of lemon.

Caviare is the fermented roe of the sturgeon. It is a dish much esteemed in Russia, but the taste for it is not very general in other countries, so discretion should be used in serving it.

It comes in small jars and can be obtained at grocers’.

OYSTERS OR CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL

Raw oysters and clams are served on the “half shell” for a first course. Blue Point oysters and Little Neck clams are the varieties preferred. The smallest ones, and those uniform in size, should be selected. They should be opened only a short time before serving. The muscle holding the mollusk to the shell is cut and the oyster or clam is served on the deep valve.

Arrange the clams or oysters symmetrically in a circle, the beaks turned to the center, on a bed of cracked ice. Place in the middle a quarter of a lemon cut lengthwise, the top edge shaved off and the seeds extracted. Rest the piece of lemon on a sprig of parsley or any green leaf.

Condiments, thin brown bread and butter sandwiches, and biscuits are passed with this course.

The condiments (horseradish and tomato catsup, black and red pepper) may be placed on a dish, and the bread and biscuits arranged around them as in illustration.