The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-12-20
CHRISrMAS DAY HINTS.
BY Louis Role.

The approaching Christmas dinner
will be the first served by many an
American housewife who may read this
column. To her the meal is looked for
ward to with apprehension if not with
dread. In the past she has been but a
guest or dutiful daughter at some
other board Now she is to preside over
her own She desires to do all that she can
and all that her mother and friends
have done to make the festival dinner
a great success. In this she probably is
making a mistake and as result will
overload her table, overexert herself,
and perhaps destroy the pleasure of
the occasion for all.
The American woman as a rule tries TO
so too much, not because she desires to
do so in all cases, but because too much
Is expected of her. She must be WIFE,
mother, teacher, cook, chambernaid
and hostess in many cases, and in these
later days is expected to be a club wo-
an and whist expert as well. She at
tends a dinner given by some more
wealthy person, and goes home to fret
and worry as she plans how she can
equal it. 1t is against this ambition to
Guido others that / wish to protest. A
plain dinner served with taste and
graced by smiling woman who is not
tagged out and nearly tired to death is
far preferable to an overloaded table
that pals by it's congested condition
and is not accompanied by a CHEEKY hos
pitality.
Now my young friend, let us build
your Christmas dinner on simple lines,
have a bill of fare that you know you
are equal to preparing without too
much fatigue, and let your easy grace
and pleasing smile serve as a sauce You
should wish to please your guests, not
to stuff them to satisfy their appetites,
not to overload their stomachs. A good
soup, followed by fish, a roast and des-
sert is enough.
With such a dinner you may give
plenty of time to a simple decoration OF
the table and the preparation of a few
dainty salads and side dishes that will
make the meal the equal of a banquet.
To elaborate this plan a little let me
suggest that it is easy to overdo the
decorations and make them almost vul-
gar. A handsome vase with approprl-
ate flowers and a few sprays of vine on
for your glass and silver ware will COM
plete the setting.
Have the soup good, but not heavy nor
too rich A rich, thick soup destroys the
appetite, while a light soup lays the
foundation for good dinner.
The fish also should be so cooked as
to be appetizing, a second step up the
ladder leading to the feature of the din
ner, the roast. With these two courses
out of the way you can proceed with
confidence. Whether you follow with
turkey, goose or the reliable English
Christmas roast of beef and subsequent
plum pudding your nervousness has
gone and your guests are now at home
at your table-the bonds of fellowship
are established.
To make your dinner doubly attrac-
| tive secure from the dollhouse grower or
from the market the rarest of green
stuffs that can be obtained a q reasona-
BILE price. Celery you will have, of
course, but you should add lettuce, rad
ishes and cucumbers as we'll A few
years ago these out season delica-
cies could not have been obtained at any
price, now they are comparatively cheap
| anu ODldlndDle III any IlrSL class mar
ket at this time of the year. The fact
that they are out of season adds to THEN
desirability for your Christmas spread.
Instead of the conventional chicken
pie to be served as an entree with the
roast | suggest a sweetbread pie. 1t is
just as easily made and will add nov
city to the meal. Blanch the sweet
breads as for cooking in other ways and
carefully pick them apart, into small
bits, removing all the membranes. Cook
two tablespoonfuls of flour in one OF
butter, and add gradually one and one
half cups of cream; season with salt ard
pepper, few grains of cayenne, halt
dozen mushrooms and two tablespoon
fuls of strained tomato. Put the sweet.
breads and sauce into deep dish, COW
er with rich crust, make a hole in tn,
center and ornament the edges with
fancy cuts of paste. Bake half an hour
Beat one egg, add half a cup of hot
cream and pour into the opening in the
crust just before removing from the
oven.
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