The morning call., 1895-01-19
FOR THE TABLE.

the fishermen from their accustomed haunts,
and the denizens of the briny deep are pre-
sumably disporting themselves in peace and
contentment and are learning to forget that
there are such cruel things as hooks and snares
provided for their destruction.
Fish was offered last week in wonderful
variety and splendid condition, and it occurred
to San Francisco gentleman to invite party
OF half dozen friends, all epicures, to dine
with him upon striped bass and canvasback
ducks. There were TO be side issues, OF course,
in the shape of oysters, mushrooms, saddle OF
mutton, etc, but the glory of the entertain
ment centered in the fish and duck. The lnYl-
tations were accepted and the day appointed,
but, as has been said before the San Francisco
markets are not absolutely dependable, and
when the day came the fish came not.
From one dealer and another came the same
answer, ''NOt q striped bass in market to-day
till at one counter was produced the only specl-
men Of that variety for sale in the city. 1t was
a small fish, not weighing more than three
pounds, and it had been on ice for twenty-tour
hours, but was firm to the touch and fresh 10
the smell, so it was sent home But though
guests were promised and dinner provided, yet
between the fish on the stall and the hsh upon
the table is gulf fixed, only TO be brlogeo by
the hands of a skillful cook, and on the day set
for the dinner the cook failed. Deaf TO en-
treaties he had shaken the dq$t o. ane mouse
from his garments and taken ms departure
1t was too late in the day TO secure another
chef, so the only course open TO the hostess
she gracefully accepted. AS the guests were
all gentlemen she turned the affair into
'stag" party, and, DOMINIC q wrapper, went
into the kitchen to prepare the dinner herself.
The soup stock had been made the day before
and needed only TO be clarified and seasoned.
The Ovsters-CalifOrnia, on the half she'll
needed no preparation; then there was the fish
to be boiled and a Hollandsise sauce to accom-
! E,11r :
mushrooms on toast; then a noble saddle of
mutton. with pease and turnips and currant
iellv sauce, then the ducks; then plain salad;
then dessert and finally black coffee. Potatoes
cut in small balls were to be served with the
fish and croutons of bread with the soup, and
the dinner hour was set at z. AS the wait
ress was perfectly trained no thought
Of the dining-room need trouble the
mind of the mistress so she took paper
and pencil and made a list of every article to
be prepared, putting after each the time at
which it would probably have to be served;
then, knowing just how much cooking was re-
CURED, it was easy to make second list, giving
the hour at which the different things were TO
be put upon the stove. This list was pinned in
worry. The first thing to be done was to make
the soup ready. This the hostess did by beat
ing the whites and shells of two eggs into the
cold stock and adding to 1t slice OF lemon;
this was allowed to heat slowly till it boiled
hard, and then was put back upon the stove
10 simmer for ten minutes; strong white
moved, strained through clean napkin into
saucepan, and was ready to be heated and
served. The croutons were then prepared by
frying the tiny cubes of bread in hot oil,
watching carefully and turning, that the color
might be uniform.
The ducks came next in order and they were
bereft of heads, legs and wings and wiped out
with a damp cloth, the windpipe removed,
as well as all bits OF blood or membrane ad-
herring to the body of the duck. Then every
bit of down and feather was pulled OF, a,blade
f0r1rv In hTrIO
rubbed thoroughly with sweet oil, lemon
juice and a speck of cayenne and salt Then
the legs were fastened together with a stitch
and the ducks were laid into a dripplng-pan
ready for the oven. They were TO have no
stuffing nor gravy, but the slices were to be
seasoned with the juices which escaped from
bird in carving and eaten with lemon juice and
cayenne pepper. The preparation of the ducks
took over an hour, as the small feathers take
deep root and require patient handling and
they cannot be burnt off, as that would ruin
the flavor.
Then attention was given to the saddle of
mutton, with its tail curled gracefully over its
back and incloSing in its curves the little
brown kidney. The tat was cut IN shallow
lines criss-crOss over the whole surface, and
when it took color it rolled up in tiny brown
points. The mutton was to be served before
the ducks, which were to be cooked exactly
twenty minutes-indeed, one was to be re-
moved from the oven two minutes before that
time to CRAFTY the taste OF any hypercritical
gourmet The piece Of mutton was large and
heavy and required over an hour and q halfS
cooking in q hot oven to have the meat rare
but not raw. So, allowing this amount of
time-it was due on the table at ten minutes to
Sit needed to be put into the oven at o'clock
that it might be taken out in time to make the
currant sauce and allow its place to be filed by
the ducks.
The fish was then carefully wiped, but as it
was to be boiled no stutfing was used. 1t was
rolled in bit of thin cloth and laid in the fish
kettle, which was rather, more than half full
of weak stock, made lukewarm. This wes
done at = o'clock and the fish was never al
lowed to boil hard-really only to reach the
boiling pOint-where it was kept for about
twelve minutes. It was then rolled upon the
platter, warmed to receive IL, from the cloth,
and was decorated with a sprig or two of
parsley and some slices of lemon. The Hol-
landaise sauce was served hot OF course. This
was made Just as the soup went to the table,
as il is not in perfection if it stands.
The potatoes, which were served with the
fish were put on a few minutes after z, and
almost before they were done they were
drained and steamed, rolled in chopped par
sley and lightly anOinted with melted butter.
The mushrooms, which followed the fish
course, were cooked in hot butter after being
peeled and picked over, but not cut. The
butter was put in large saucepan, and made
very hot, and the mushrooms were put in and
cooked covered, for about ten minutes, then
served on little rounds OF buttered toast.
Then came the saddle OF mutton, with its
cuTraut jelly sauce, made by adding TO the
regulse gravy two tablesPoonfnls OF currant
Jelly, which had been dissolved in warm water,
and q Jew drops of lemon juice with some
cayenne. The ducks were placed in the hottest
part OF the oven, and basted frequently till
they looked ready to burst their crisp brown
skins. With them, the labor of getting dinner
was over, as nothing now remained but to
pour the French dressing over the hearts of
lettuce, which had been freshening in cold
water, and TO serve it with cheese.
The dessert, an ice, had been sent from a con-
techOners and needed but to be turned from
the mold. Then came the coffee, hot strong
and black, over which the guests sat long, so
long that the mistress OF festivities had time
10 don evening attire and appear in the parlor
ready to receive them.
On this occasion the host did what he called
the bartender's duty-he cracked the ice and
put the bottles OF champagne in it, drew the
cOrks OF other bottles and regulated their tenn
perature.
The California oysters on their half she'll
looked much more tempting than their huge
Eastern cousins, and are gradually superseding
them at fashionable tables
Indeed the whole dinner was pronounced
success, and no one suspected that their grace
full hostess had personally superintendent the
preparation of the feast.
Family Retail Market.
Changes last week were more numerous
Butter and Eggs are both cheaper.
aF.,N r