Evening star., 1902-09-13
NOVEL DINNER PARTY
ARRANGED AFTER A PRoGRES-
SIVE PLAN.
Eating Each Course in a Different
House-Costumes for Guests
and Servants.

House-Costumes for Guests
and Servants.
Written for The Evening Star.
A novel and interesting entertainment is
the progressive dinner party Several host
esses combine in giving one. each course
being eaten at a different house At a
recent festivity of the kind typical dishes
of different nations were served. In each
instance the hostess host and those who
waited upon the guests We're dressed in cos
TUNES of the countries represented.
Canapes of caviare constituted the first
course. Russian one. since the best cav
iare is made from the roes Of fish caught
in Russian lakes and rivers, Canapes are
slices of bread which have been toasted
fried or Drowned in the oven before being
covered with some seasoning like the cav
iare. The bread is shaped either in circles
about two or three inches in diameter
or in strips two inches wide and four
inches long. quarter of an inch is the
correct thickness for the bread. Caviare
| is a favorite food in the empire of the great
white czar. Prepared in any way which is
preferred, it takes the place of the shelfish,
which usually forms the first course at a
! formal dinner party.
In the second course Hungarian goulash
was substituted for soup. The third course
was Norwegian one-baked Goldfish. The
entrees were Italian timbales of macaroni
and spaghetti. Sauerkraut cooked in Ger
man fashion with frankfurters and served
with rye bread and limburger cheese form
ed another course. Roast beef. with York
shire pudding and brimming glasses of ale.
represented the fare of John Bull.
cheese souffie formed the French course
and roasted turkey the American one.
Turkish ''pilaf' took the place of salad and
wa 4so1l,1 1atfn ,F h.,
land of the shah. The fruit course was
supplied by China; whose delicious preserv-
ed fruits may be obtained in any city where
there is a large colony of Cinnamon and
therefore dealer in native viands. The
coffee, accompanied with Swiss cheese and
crackers, was served in a dining room fit
ted to look like a room in a Swiss chalet
Foods of All Nations.
When giving an entertainment OF this
kind, about the only order which can be
observed in serving the courses is to have
the soups and fishes first and the sweets
last. Between the beginning and the end
Of the feast any dishes characteristic of
particular countries may he ranged. A very
little meat will suffice, for an abundance
of it will satisfy the appettes long be-
fore the guests have reached the end of
the dinner.
One hostess could not well serve all the
different courses of a progressive dinner,
ties and devote an evening to the eXDIoita-
tion of the foods of each nation When a
dinner is divided among several families,
each course, being necessarily short en-
tails only a moderate amount of work.
The servants or those who wait upon the
guests should wear characteristic costumes.
and If they speak a few phrases of the
language of the country they repreSent so
much the better.
When suitable dresses for the hosts and
hostesses cannot be rented at the local cos
tuners, they may be fashioned at home
of cheap bright colored materials With
the aid of the sketches in books of travel
and the supervision Of those for whom the
garments are being prepared fairly good re-
suits may be achieved by an ordinary seam
stress
There are foreigners I'm every locality.
and as many of them are in needy circum-
stances their services can be obtained for
the evening at a moderate cost. They may
nave in their possession costumes suitable
for the occasion, and they can direct the
fitting up of the dining room, the arrange
ment of the table and the preparation of
the food of their native land. a quartet
OF singers or musicians to render native
airs adds to the charm Of the occasion.
The Different Menus.
Menus should be supplied at the first
house visited, and after that course has
been eaten the cards may be carried with
them by the diners. Dishes to be served at
each course the nations represented and the
name Of the hostess should be presented on
the menus.
Or, instead of designating the names of
the countries, these might be left 10 the
ingenuity of the guests, a prize being
awarded to the first one guessing correctly
the identity of all The program here out
lined for a progressive dinner may readily
be varied. 1t is wonderful the amount of
information which it imparts to the dinner
Or VI hn haAlN i0rn ha fsHl h4 n
different natiOnalities.
Perhaps the most interesting courses will
be those of the oriental nations. The
MOorS for instance. with their dark skins
and gorgeous robes and magnificent tur-
bans. cannot fail to be impressive as, seat
ed on the floor, they partake of the food
which is placed before them on tables about
nine inches high. MoorS dispense with
knives and forks, the fingers being regarded
as sufficient for the purpose of conveying
food to the mouth. According to an author
ity, a Moorish stew may be made as fol-
lows: Pound together nutmeg, ginger, pep
per. allspice, coriander, chopped parsley
and marjoram. Place a dessertspoonful of
this mixture with half as much salt in an
earthenware vessel and add three table,
SpoonfulS of olive oil and a couple of
ounces of butter. Allow this mixture to
boil add a sliced onion and stir until It
browns Put into this some meat cut into
small pieces and cover the vessel. allowing
the contents to simmer on slow fire. When
the meat is Drowned. half cover it with
DollnS water ana allow II 10 simmer Tor
two or three hours. Then place In bowls
on the tables, with sliced fresh onions, raj
sins and olives.
The Turkish Dinner
The Turkish dinner should be served to
the men and women in separate apart
ments. The favorite Turkish dish, ''pflafi"
presented to the guests in bowls on low
tables which look something like tabourets,
is made as follows:
Wash three-quarters Of a pound of rice
and put it into kettle with a quarter OF a
pound of butter. Let it fry until the rice
has absorbed the butter. Then set it tenn
porarily aside. Rub through a colander one
quart of raw or canned tomatoes, adding to
the result quart of water. Put this
mixture the fire, and soon it bolls
add the rice previously set aside. Salt and
pepper it to taste. Covering the vessel
tightly, let the pilaf boil. When 1t is DONE
brown a quarter of 8. pound of butter, pour
it over the composition and serve.