The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1888-12-21
CHRISTMAS DINNER.

GastroDomic Suggestions CONCERNING the
Observance of This Annual Festival.
Now good digestion wait on appetite.
And health en- BOTH
No other festival is so universally cele-
brated throughout Christendom as is
Christmas, and no festival carries with it
quite such spirit of joyousness apart
from its own inherent reasons for joyous
ness. Century after century poetry and
art have been adding to the associations of
the Christ child's day new and beautiful
conceptions and associations more than
making up for the gradual dropping off
Of the grosser traditions and delights Of
the Christmas Of our early English an
cestors, when '.the mightiest ale was
preached and the boars head grimly
stared" as the ''wassail cup" went round.
But II there is less ''wassaip' the an
nual feast known as the Christmas din
ner remains an interesting feature in the
programme of the days celebration.
There is less novelty in modern Christ
mas fare than in any other yearly feast
except Thanksgiving. The time hon.
ored mince pie ranks first as standard
Christmas dessert, although a real Eng
lish plum pudding may tako its place,
when both are not provided. 1t is to the
Saxons that we are indebted as the orig
inators Of tho fruity mince pie. The
Saxon kings and mobiles always had pie
upon their Christmas tables, sometimes
so large as to fill up the width Of the
board. These were often used as a
means of presenting surprises in the way
of gifts that were hidden underneath the
crust. To such excess was the mince
pie carried that Cromwell and his fol-
lowers looked with horror upon it, and
the Scotch and English Presbyterians
adopted instead what they called plum
porrid6e. and from this plum porridge
was gradually evolved the English plum
pudding, which today stands as the
great rival of tho mince pic.
In place of the boar's head and stout
sirloin, we long ago adopted that national
bird, tho turkey, which III tho past fcv
years has given way in some households
10 the goose.
For the hou,cec2pcr l. Il an slgrcaabse
| fact that the preparation for tho Christ
mas dinner can BE- made so long In ad-
vance. The Hpplca for the nincc pics.
4 for instance, many carly b. selected for
peeling. and the fatted !leifcr killed for
suet and meat. This relieves the prepa-
rations that under any circumstances win
pile up aS.thc day approaches.
a standard receipt for mincc pies: Sc
! lect from the round three pounds of beef
it Is best not to have it fat--and boil IL
In water enough To cover ii. Smoked
tongue is valuable ingredient to add
with less of the beef. Chop dine and mix
with it three pounds of su, 4, four pounds
OF apples, four pounds stoned raisins.
two pounds of currants, one pound OF
citron, . quarter of q pound each Of
lemon and orange peel, tho juice OF four
oranges and four lemons, four pounds Of
. coffee sugar, two grated nutmegs, atea-
spoonful each of ground cloves, allspice,
cinnamon, mace, pepper and two table
spoonfuls of salt, cider enough To moisten-
| The plum pudding may be made ready
also in advance and await the glorious
day. Here is receipt which cannot be
bettered Stone o pound of raisins and
pour on them q half gill Of brandy. Lay
ON them two ounces Of citron, and one
each of candied orange and lemon peel
sliced, the grated juice and rind Of one
orange and ono lemon, four ounces Of
blanched almonds, q pound Of currants,
a pound OF stlet chopped, a pound Of
coffee sugar, and the interior of a bakers
loaf crumbed, mix well with grated nut
meg, little cayenne and a teaspoonful
of salt. Pour over n gill Of sherry and
vet away in cool place. Just before
boiling the pudding add eight eggs and
enough sweet cream to moisten it.
This il Miss Corson's receipt, and she
says. Now let all the young ladies of
the house descend and In turn vigor-
ously stir the fruity compound for good
luck Butter the water tight pudding
mold, dust with flour, end pack the
pudding IN, allowing q couple of inches
for the pudding TO swell. Boil or steam
! for ten hours. and do not open the mold
until the pudding is ready to serve. Just
before using boil again for two hours.
Just before serving pour over il glass
Of brandy or rum, set 1t on fire and send
i'm blazing. The sauce Is made of equal
quantities of butter and sug2 huvored
with rum or brandy.
There il ono thing we have not all
learned, and that ia, that heaven has not
! granted us stonlachs according to our
wealth. The rich man cannot cat moro
than the poor man because he Is rich. For
that reason there Is no use Of providing a
menu SO extensive that even Christmas
day appetite cannot compass 1t. As wo
love on this day old times and old
friends turkey, cranberies and chicken
salad are not to DO elbowed out OF the
way BY any new dishes or four and
twenty courses. Here Is an old fashioned
Christmas day dinner. vi u
Oyster Soup " ~ A.
Roast Turkey. Oyster Sarce.
Msshed Potatoes and Turnipe.
4 on pau Boiled oniona J4WN
J Celery. Cranberry Sauce. Pickles z y