Lenore Richards

“ The necessity for neatness and orderly arrangement of servings is obvious. At large parties where there is plate service it is wise to make up a sample plate before the time of serving in order to determine the best arrangement of food and in order actually to show those who are to dish up the food how each plate must look when it is placed before the guest. One who is inexperienced in planning menus, especially for parties, should accustom himself to visualizing the meal as it will appear when written upon the menu card and as it will appear upon the plate. ”

“ Where several courses are to be served, and it is the aim of those planning the menu to keep the appetite stimulated, acids, meat extractives and warm foods should be served first. Cloying foods such as sweets, very cold foods and foods which are satisfying tend to depress the appetite and hence have no place in the first course of a meal, except for luncheon where the menu may be very simple. In institutions which have fixed menus, it is especially desirable that the meal, no matter how simple, be so planned that it may be served in courses. ”

“ Well-balanced and appropriate menus are absolutely necessary to the success of any establishment serving food. Given the best of raw materials and the most competent cooks, the institutional manager will fail to please his patrons if his menus show lack of careful planning. The truth of this assertion is verified by the analysis of many failures.
On the other hand successful menu planning is not especially difficult. Like any other art it requires careful study and observance of a few simple rules. ”

“ In serving the public, whether it be in the hospital, the college dormitory or the commercial restaurant, the aim should always be to have the food better than that to which the patrons are accustomed.
In almost any kind of food work, and especially in institutional food work, visiting trips to the best hotels, tea rooms, inns, cafeterias and restaurants are invaluable, since they impart a knowledge of the way things are done, which in turn creates a confidence and assurance that nothing else can give. ”

“ Commercially and aesthetically it is unwise to make servings too large. Every one has had the experience of being served with more food than can be eaten with relish and without waste. The effect is to surfeit the appetite and to limit the variety which a patron may have, unless he is able financially to order the variety; in which case he is obliged to leave some food uneaten. In any institution which serves à la carte, it is better to adjust portions and prices to the end that the patron [Pg 9] may have some variety in his meal without prohibitive expense. ”

“ Even though the labor supply may be adequate, efficient planning of menus demands that there be an adjustment between those foods requiring much labor and those requiring little, so that proper balance may be maintained.
In discussing the limitations in menu making the element of cost has come up again and again. It becomes a definite restriction in institutions that work on a budget, or where the group to be served demands good wholesome food at the lowest price. As examples of such institutions there are the factory cafeteria, the school lunch and the college cafeteria. ”

“ Where there is family service, rather than plate service from the kitchen, there will probably be a large amount of left-over food. It requires a good deal of ingenuity to use these left-overs in some other form so as to maintain variety and that element of surprise which is so essential. In the cafeteria or other institution using à la carte service the left-over problem is not so serious. [Pg 7] It is very nicely taken care of in tea rooms and hotels which serve a club luncheon, the menu for which may be chiefly made up from the left-overs. ”

“ The age, sex, nationality, economic condition and occupation of the patrons must be kept in mind. The adult demands a freedom of choice which may be denied children. For this reason the content of the grade school lunch may be fixed in an arbitrary way, while this will not do when one is dealing with adults of any class. For instance, grade school children are satisfied with the morning bowl of bread and milk and the noon lunch of bread and soup. Adults, even in a charitable home, would undoubtedly complain of the simplicity of such meals. ”

“ That is to say, there should be the maximum variety in preparation of food in order that no meal shall contain two or more creamed dishes, fried foods, foods with custard basis or foods with bread foundation.
If a score card were made out for judging a meal, flavor would perhaps be given the most importance. Here again care must be taken to avoid duplicating flavors. Too many strong flavors or too many bland flavors are undesirable. While strong flavors stimulate the appetite it is unwise to employ them continually, especially where the same group of people is being served day after day. ”

“ Perhaps the most frequent criticism of institutions is on the lack of variety in meals. Hotels, clubs and tea rooms can draw trade by serving out-of-season foods when they first appear in the market. Institutions whose purchases are limited by a budget should make the most of seasonal foods when the market is at its height and the food is cheapest. Such institutions should avoid serving foods that are not actually in season. ”

“ Heat the stock and season with the onion, salt and celery salt. Thicken with the flour mixed to a paste with some of the cold stock which has been reserved. Add the chicken meat, and serve with baking-powder biscuits or on toast. In ordering chicken for the above recipe, three and a half to four pounds of chicken, New York dressed, must be ordered for every pound of cooked chicken meat which is desired. In cooking chicken care should be taken to cool the chicken and stock as quickly as possible and then put into the refrigerator. The chicken should be cooled out of the stock. ”

“ Though it may be necessary to offer slightly more choice in foods in the commercial cafeteria, some cafeterias offer such a wide variety of choice that the patron is confused and has difficulty in choosing his meal. Furthermore too much variety makes for sameness from day to day. In all cafeterias where the same group is served each day, and where there is little or no competition, a simpler menu may be used. The following menu outline is suggested for use in the average cafeteria. ”

“ The high school lunchroom may eliminate coffee from its menu and have frequent "pieless" days. Any such attempts to regulate the diet of adults, except for patriotic reasons such as were the incentive to denial during the war, are highly inadvisable.
As far as the food elements are concerned, the same kinds of food may be served to boys and girls or to men and women. But, practically, they will not eat the same foods with equal satisfaction, and this should influence the planning of menus in different institutions. ”

“ The point to be kept in mind, where the guest has the privilege of selection, is that all the variety should not come within the day or meal but within the week or month. [Pg 5] Surprise always helps to induce appetite and this fact is as applicable to the menu in the children's home as to that of the tea room.
It is good business practice as well as good dietetic practice to plan meals according to the weather and the time of year. Hot, heavy foods sell best in cold weather. Cool, crisp, fresh foods sell best on the hottest days. The public is very susceptible to weather conditions. ”

“ In most institutions the serving of special dinners is quite apart from the ordinary routine of business. If this service is to be handled simply and efficiently, all of its various steps must be listed and taken up in an orderly fashion with the end in view of perfecting an emergency organization as efficient as that which regulates the daily tasks. ”

“ Again, incomplete equipment may have to be considered in planning the menu. If there is no power machinery the amount of hand work or heavy physical preparation called for may have to be cut down in accordance with the equipment at hand. In serving large numbers power machinery will often pay for itself in a few months through the saving in labor. It will not only do the work better and more humanely but will allow a much greater variety of food. ”

“ Add the crumbs, tomatoes, chopped celery, salt and onions to the meat and mix well. Beat the eggs slightly, add the milk and mix with the meat. Weigh out into well-greased loaf pans and bake in a medium oven. In order to make the loaves uniform be careful to press the meat well into the corners of the pans and avoid having the center of the loaf higher than the sides. One pound of hamburg steak, as purchased, will make nine servings when the other ingredients that go into the loaf have been added. ”

“ As a rule articles of food served together should be of diverse shapes. One may enjoy a croquette, a stuffed baked potato, peas in timbales and a roll in the same meal, but it is usually unwise to serve them on the same plate. ”

“ The variety in salads may consist of one fruit salad, one vegetable salad and one salad in which protein predominates, such as cottage cheese, meat or fish.
Head lettuce salad is universally popular and may appear at every meal.
In salad dressings, there should always be a cooked dressing, French dressing and mayonnaise. ”

“ Sift into the boiling water, stirring constantly. When the mixture has thickened add the well-beaten egg yolks and let cook three or four minutes. Add the butter substitute.
Beat the egg whites until they hold their shape. Add the sugar and continue beating until sugar and egg are thoroughly blended. Avoid beating the sugar and egg until too stiff to spread. Bake in a moderate oven. This recipe makes twenty, ten and three quarter inch pies, using two and one half cups per pie. ”

“ As the rice absorbs the stock, add the milk gradually, to avoid curdling. When the rice is tender, remove from the fire and add the chopped nuts, peppers and beaten eggs. Grease loaf pans and fill with the rice mixture. The loaf pans should be set in a pan of hot water to [Pg 105] avoid over-baking the bottom of the loaf, thus forming a hard crust. Serve with a cream or tomato sauce.
Number of servings 192
Amount in one serving 4 oz.
Calories in one serving______
Cost of one serving______
EGG CUTLETS
Make a stiff white sauce of the flour, milk, butter substitute and salt. ”

“ Mix the dry ingredients and add alternately to the fat and sugar with the milk. Fold in the well-beaten whites last. This makes eighteen two-layer cakes. If preferred, this amount may be baked in square tins, twenty-four by twenty-four inches, and will fill three pans. Where a kitchen mixing machine is used in cake making the best results are obtained by creaming the fat and sugar in the machine for from twenty to thirty minutes and then adding the remainder of the ingredients and completing the mixing quickly. ”

“ Hard cook the eggs, peel and chop, and add to the white sauce and cool. When cold mold in the shape of a cutlet and dip in dipping mixture made of the eggs and milk, and then in crumbs and fry in deep fat. ”

“ Measures, on the other hand, are inexpensive and always available. It may be said that because of the amounts and the size of the measures used in large quantity cookery there is not the degree of inaccuracy which is found in measuring small quantities.
It is hoped the form of the recipes with the spaces for figuring costs and calories will be of value from the commercial and classroom standpoint. ”

“ When the dough is ready, put on a well-floured board and roll out in a rectangular shape to about half an inch in thickness. Brush with melted fat and sprinkle with the mixed sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Commencing with the long side of the dough, make into a roll. ”

“ In the matter of equipment the institution must get away from the idea that it is a large home, with working [Pg 6] conditions as they have been in the average home. It should consider itself an industrial plant where one of the aims is maximum production with minimum labor ”

“ Parsley
Watercress, in season
Mixed pickles
For steaks
Lemons cut in fancy shapes
Sautéd mushrooms
Potato roses
Stuffed tomatoes
Stuffed peppers
Grilled and buttered Brussels sprouts
For fish
Lemons, in slices and cut in fancy shapes
Cucumber baskets, filled with dressing
Parsley
Watercress
[Pg 64] Clam shells, stuffed with clams and mushrooms
Mushrooms, sautéd
Potatoes, cut in fancy shapes, such as shoe strings or lattice, and fried in deep fat
There are certain garnishes which it is customary to use with salads, especially with chicken salad. ”

“ Mix the dry ingredients and combine with the above mixture. Add the raisins. Pour the mixture into a well-greased baking pan. Cover and steam for one to two hours. Individual steamed puddings may be made by filling greased ramekins half full of the dough and steaming. Avoid turning on too much steam when the pudding is first put into the steamer. Serve with vanilla sauce. ”