Paul Pierce

“ The young married woman who is expert in blending sauces, is just as clever in mixing the human elements of attraction and amalgamation.
Refreshments, daintily served, stimulate conversation; ice cream breaks the ice, so to speak, and warms the company. Serving food is a visible demonstration of hospitality which all the philosophy in the world cannot cover.
Gorgeous ornamentation of dinner table is conceded to be bad form. ”

“ It is quite as often the hand that stirs the cake as well as the ingredients themselves that makes the entertainment successful.
There are some women who have a perfectly inexplicable talent for making life livable. Under their deft fingers awkward curtains and draperies assume classic form; from their imaginations blossom forth the most marvelous devices for entertainment and comfort; their ferns never have scales and their umbrella plants do not wither at the edges. ”

“ Amid flowers and softly shaded lights sits the gracious woman who pours the liquid gold into the fragile cups, dispensing meanwhile, smiles and the bright charming small talk that is so necessary to the success of these occasions. A wise hostess selects for this important position the most brilliant, tactful woman within her circle of friends. The menu, although by no means regulated on the English house-party plan, should consist of trifles—sandwiches, wafers, fancy cakes, ices, and possibly a salad. ”

“ Nervousness, annoyance, anxiety on the part of the host or hostess during the serving of dinner are the deadly foes of enjoyment. If you feel these, therefore avoid showing them as you would avoid doing any other act sure to bring discomfort to those you are entertaining. Nothing conduces more to the enjoyment of guests than the fact that the host is sharing the enjoyment. What if some servant blunders or some dish is spoiled! ”

“ Perhaps one of the most embarrassing moments is when, the company assembled, unconsciously expectant and usually most flatteringly interested, the hostess prepares to fill and light the little lamp whose flickering flame begins the ceremony. If the hostess is wise and conversation seems to flag at this interesting moment, she will promptly start the ball rolling and relieve the tension by some extemporaneous remark, some light jest that will at least temporarily distract the attention of the merry assemblage. ”

“ Violets, lovely as they are, do not make a pretty table decoration, being too dull in color. A few scattered in the finger bowls give an air of daintiness and bring with them a delicate fragrance.
For the centerpiece for the Thanksgiving dinner table, this day of days, take a toy wagon, the kind which represents a farm wagon is best, and place it in the center of the table on a mat of wild grasses and berries and fill it to overflowing with luscious fruits, peaches, grapes, oranges, lemons, apples, whatever your larder affords. ”

“ The first ambition of the young hostess seems to be a rarebit, possibly because its frequent introduction at stag suppers makes it a great favorite with her men friends. Rarebits are avowedly hard to make, and the recipes are legion, but whatever formula you use, whether you use cream, ale, beer, curry or Tobasco, never fail to add two half-beaten eggs for each pound of cheese, and serve the minute it reaches a creamy consistency. This principle followed, your rarebit woes will vanish, and the fame of your chafing dish will be heralded abroad. ”

“ Provide a long table, sheets of fancy paper, flowers, pictures, paste, scissors and watercolors and ask each to make an original valentine. The game of hearts, the auction of hearts and the auction of valentines are old but excellent ways of amusing a company. For the auction of hearts the girls are in a separate room and a clever auctioneer calls off their charms and merits and knocks them down to the highest bidder, who does not know who he has bought until all are sold. A fancy dress party, each girl representing a valentine, is a delightful entertainment for the evening. ”

“ Three things are required to give an enjoyable dinner party; good taste, good judgment and an intuitive sense of harmony. Good taste suggests the proper thing in table dressing, in menu cards, in viands and beverages. Good judgment dictates the fortunate time, the appropriate guests, the seasonable dishes and topics; and last, a sense of harmony is the quality that throws a glamour over all, combining pleasant parts in one symmetrical whole, making a picture "distinct like the billows, but one like the sea." ”

“ A chocolatiere is a pretty affair. The decoration is an immense mound of bride roses in the center of the dining room table. The refreshments are baskets of chocolate ice cream filled with whipped cream. The cakes are chocolate squares. The candies are all chocolate and cream, and hot chocolate is served. Chocolatieres are very popular entertainments for young girls and for matrons. They are given in the morning or afternoon. As nearly every woman loves chocolate, they are pretty certain to please the guests. ”

“ All the easy chairs are pressed into service, the little iron lanterns blink joyously, and story-telling, music and smoking are the order of the evening. The light being dim, positions are uncertain and bachelor manners prevail, so unrestrained jollity reigns, and though the people in the other flats may hear the echoing laughter they pass it over with a good natured tolerance and wonder what there is that is so funny. ”

“ This noonday breakfast very much resembles the morning breakfast of the French country-house in the variety of foods. This repast always is most attractive to an American because of its informality, and the viands are enticing. This morning breakfast of the Parisian is really like a little dinner, and that is what we wish to serve to meet all the varied obligations that are to be wiped out by an artistic and choice return entertainment, whether it be called luncheon or noonday breakfast. ”

“ Your guest will infinitely prefer the newness of your dishes to an imitation of her own. If you live in the country, the home-made bacon and ham will be a real treat; and a bass, fresh from the river, will be a revelation to one who has only eaten fish after it has been packed in ice. If you live in the city do not attempt to serve spring chicken to your country guest. It is impossible for a town chicken ever to become the tender, toothsome morsel she is used to at home. ”

“ Happy the camper who, taking hint from the big lumber camps, ties to his wagon an iron bean pot, and has always on hand for hungry souls a mess of delicious baked beans. Every well-regulated camp should have a bean-hole dug close by the camp fire, and then when guests come out from town, if the camp is near town, a bean bake enlivens things. ”

“ It is an age of luxury and refined taste in palate, as in other things, and tea is no longer tea, unless of a high grade and properly brewed. The woman who trusts her domestic affairs to a housekeeper, or in the event of attending to them herself, depends wholly for the excellence of an article upon the price she pays, is a very mistaken one. Without informing herself she may very naturally conclude that Russian or Caravan tea is cultivated, buds and blossoms in the land of the Czar, until later on, when her ignorance meets a downfall in some very embarrassing way. ”

“ Does company come in without warning and the sense of hospitality constrain one to invite them to lunch or dinner, the careful Martha is ready for the emergency, and if too late to send to market and what is prepared must be supplemented with something else, she has plenty of canned goods in her storeroom and improvises some dainty dish without a suggestion of flurry. If not so thoughtful she graciously serves her guest with what she has, and never by word or look implies that the call is inopportune. ”

“ A chafing dish supper menu must necessarily be confined to those dishes which are the hosts' or hostess' specialty—Welsh rarebit, panned or creamed oysters, shellfish, eggs or meats. The very informality of a chafing dish supper is its charm, the guests sitting at the table while the dishes are prepared. Decide upon the chief dish and have everything possible prepared in the kitchen and ready to use at the table, the cheese or meat cut into dice, the bread or crackers toasted, the ingredients measured and in glasses or cups and all utensils ready to use. ”

“ A porch tea party given in the summer is a most enjoyable affair. The guests are seated on the porch which has immense jardinieres filled with garden flowers, and draperies of large American flags. The punchbowl is just inside the door in the hall. The guests bring their needlework and as they sew, one of the number reads a group of original stories. Following this have a little contest called The Menu. The prize for the correct list is a solid silver fork with a rose design. The refreshments are lemon sherbet, macaroons, sweet wafers, pecans and bonbons. ”

“ A clam-bake is a delight wherever and whenever partaken of, but when it is prepared in the piney woods of Cape Cod by the inimitable skippers of Buzzards Bay it is something that is not to be forgotten. It is a joy, from the gathering of the first stone to the swallowing of the last possible clam. ”

“ The table is laid in the regulation white, dotted over with American Beauty petals and violets, the edge being draped in laurel tied with tri-colored ribbon. In the middle is laid a round mat of woodland moss to simulate bluegrass, and on it rests a miniature log cabin, around which is built a fancy rail fence made of chocolate sticks; a number of little pickaninnies are seen playing about the house, and grin out at the guests, which renders the effect very realistic and interesting. ”

“ I have seen a menu composed of turtle soup, salmon, venison and woodcocks, all excellent things in their way, but when brought together only leaving a sense of excessive oiliness and richness.
As an entree the roti should consist of game, and vice-versa. The salad served with poultry and game should be green salad with a simple dressing of oil and vinegar. No set rules can be laid down.
It is true the caterer is an important element in the modern art of dinner-giving—he "saves all the trouble;" but he is a stereotyped quantity. ”

“ Tea biscuit, chicken salad and tea or chocolate, ices or frozen custard and sponge cake are most suitable.
A High Tea.
A High Tea is one of the most complimentary entertainments to which a hostess may invite her friends in the afternoon. The number of guests is limited, but the possibilities for decoration, daintiness and elegance are unlimited. The exact hour is written on the invitation, as High Tea at 4:00 o'clock (or 5:00 o'clock) . The guests may number about twenty-four, but twelve or sixteen is a desirable number. They arrive exactly at the appointed hour. ”

“ If one is willing to take advantage of their very present opportunities it seems to me that limited means lose half their disadvantages. Choose your apartment with a view to entertaining. If your bed-room opens from the parlor make it dainty and sweet and close the portieres until merely a glimpse appears. ”