Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-03-22
THE QUESTION OF DINNER


because they are we'll cooked The London
Times does not disdain TO mingle an editorial
on this subject occasionally with its heavier
brOadsldes on Italian wars and Indian ipsur-
reetions, and what the Times discusses eyery-
body eise takesuP A writer in Bentley's Mis-
eellsny, for February, gives his opinions thus
GREAT DESIDERArUM
IL Is to Paris that We must look for any re-
form among ourselves, and we are certain tInt
the agitation will not be successful unless ex-
amples are drawn from that highIy-fayored
capital 1t Is very easy for our millionaires to
secure themselves against any failure; their
chefs have all the appliances to make pYyes
"a game, OF which the stock il some half-dozen
pbeasants. or sn Apieian fish soup in which the
meanest compliments arc "A turbot and bottle
OF win de grave. Such men stand above all
reform. They can tickle their palate in snv
way they like, and dine better than all the rest
OF the civilized world. for they can combine
English solidity with French taste. Nor need
We teel any sympathy with those one thousand
a-year men, 10 whom ''G. ii. M devoted two
columns of the Times and mercilessy exposed
the errors into which they fall and the aDathy
with which they accept haunch of muttos
and two boiled fowls rs the equivalent for the
money expended on their dinner Ii is their
own fault II these gentlemen tameIy put ND
with such care, and the remedy lies in their
own hands. But class to be sincerely pitied
Il that composed Of men cursed with moderate
competency. and who have married under the
dslusion that they are going tO be comfortable
and enjoy at home their club messes Poor
fellows, how soon and how bitterly are they
disappointed. They must have groaned in
wsrdly on perusing q. III NJ. : bill of fare See
what that grest AmphitryOn considers sufficient
to satisfy the appetite of the man of taste-s:One
soup, one hsh, three four entrees lneyer
mOre) one relieve, one rOti. one game general
ly enough unless you have ortOlans or becca-
nos for Il secOnd,) two legumes, and two cx-
Wrnwr ,nN1 ill A.
Fancy the tortured reader mildly suggesting
TO the PLaeeNs HIOr that ne should like some-
thing Of that Sort n relief after the Joints on
which he has been dining for the last three
months. We can readily Imagine her reply.
And yet, after all, if our lady msnagsrs
would deign To accept hint from the French
and not regard it rs lowering to their dignity
To take look at what is going on in their
kitchen. our brightest visions might be real
lied with very slightly-incressed expense
Take. for instance, the French pOt-au-feu the
general receptacle Of Whatever our cooks throw
away as useless, and which allows of soups of
infinite variety being served up every day
The old prejudices about sOup-drinking, frog
eating Frenchmen. has died out never to re-
turn. Throughout the Orimean campaign the
French soldiers enjoyed their soup and we
have yet to learn that they were any weaker
in consequence. The active Zouaves, who
swarmed up the heights of Alma, had many a
time been condemned TO SOHIp IRaigre as n sole
resource, and still they did their duty like
men, As for the objection that our climate re-
quires the consumption of nearly raw meat to
Keep up stamina, Il simply bOsh; and the
French mechanic-far worse paid than the En-
gllsh artIsan-has always a comforting or
Strengthening plate Of bOHIii when his En-
glish brother, through his wife's ignorance of
the first principles of cookery. seeks refuge in
the gin palace. and deadens his appetite at the
same time he H. destroying his constitution
French ladies do not consider domestic duties
beneath attention, and although, perhaps, it
would be asking too much of our wives If We ex-
peeted them 10 make our pastry (and, indeed,
We should be very sorry to have our gsllantry
put to the test by having to eat it, still
they might exercise a wise supervision, and
put check on that frightful waste which
prominently distinguishes too many Of our
mddle-class Kitchens When we find in the
Times those passionate appeals for help to
the homeless poor ranged side by side with
suggested reforms of our dinner-table we
think that We could find better modes of en-
plOying cold meat than by allowing the
cook to serve it up to Policeman ". who turns
up his nose Indignantly unless it be aceompa-
MED by his fayOrite picked onions.
CULINARY REFORMS.
One great reform, then, which might be
safely introduced, much to our comfort is the
pOt-au-feu, the most economical and pleasant
est domestic article the French possess The
next point, and one Of vital Importance is the
introduction among Us Ol t0o fre0cn stOV viii n
its baffSTfS dP rHISIHP. Not only under our
present defective system do We waste "A little
fortune in Goals, which go roaring up the chin
ney, solely for the advantage Of the sweeper,
bat we ruin the virtues of our meat by the reck-
less way in which We cook it. 1t is kept at a
furious state of ebullitiOn. by which il becomes
hardened, and the nOuriShing portion is dis
solved in the water. Now, by the French sys-
fem Of using charcoal, the exact amount Of heat
required is kept up. and the food. when cooked d.
is easy of digestion. and far more grateful to
the palate. The expense of such a stove would
not be very great; an intelligent bricklayer
would put il up. and the first outlay would be
very soon repaid by the saving in fuel But
without such IN apparatus Id ~ almost impos-
sibIe to intRduee French cookery among US or
prepare those peculiar dishes which gradu-
ally to Wean the husband from the club. Pom
der ON this, dear lady readers, and be warned
In time
IL H. inconceivable how much can be done
with this apparatus. ships galley is gener
ally regarded ss the best distribution Of culi
nary space; but that Is nothing when compared
with the French battery. When kept thor
ouyhly clean, which is the first desideratum in
every kitchen, IL ~ really very pleasant
sight and lady need not fear spelling her
dress if she will eOndescend 10 visit the pene-
trslia Of her kitchen, and try her hand at some
dainty dish for her husband. And. if she do
40. she may console herself with the reflection
that she is but following the example of many
ilIustrious ladies.
VEGETABLES.
Then again look at the scandalOus way in
which our vegetables are treated--the very
finest in the world; but their aroma and flavor
is DESTROYED by an ignorant cook. Culinary
s,z.s frOm DR. Kitchener dOwnwards have
,,t1.d the impoT tance Of having potato dressed
prSperly, and the dificuilty Of finding an ar
t,,ts capable Of sending up that escalxnt ia
sstisfsetnry condition Then Why should We
run the risk Of failure In Nj GOgue's book
we md more than forty ways vi cooking pJ-
tatsc. Surely some of these might be intro
,IaeeL among u, instead Of having Ia depend
en- the watery ball that is served up To us, or
that del,lOrable mixture known by the name
OF mashed potstoes, Who, too. that ever tasted
a,I,ifs pois dressed in the French or German
fashion (Ihe latter. perhaps, being trife too
sweet) bat holds those dishes in grateful re-
rnembran.e and looks with n sigh on his na-
tive dish Of peas, which come up like bullets
from furious boiling. aud swimming in an ocean
of IIauified butter Or, ii You a man fond
Of bold innovations, just Introduce the haricot
kIaRr 60 the notice of your cook, and see what