The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-02-22

HOW ] COOKED A COMPANY
DINNER.
By Martha Meculloeh Wllllan,s.


Being reasonably vain; Of my cook.
ing when 60 and learn new. ways
the next thing IS TO show them Oh.
Hence. my course dinner 4paper bag.
ged Of COURSE. Likewise, q company
dinner. It would be a deadly insult
to good food even to think Of serving
It in courses to one lone feeder.
Ny guests came tribe Iate-by
the time they had on hats and wraps
I was sFeadyntp, take them In the
kitchen. This because OF a shrewd
suspicion that they thought r. had
been telling fairy tales they could
not conceive Of real food, coming real.
" cooked out Of a paper bag.
Ny people smiled gratefully as they
entered the kitchen. Truly things
were not half bad, by the smell. Il
was very mild hardly more than an
agreeable faint. A hot dish sat ready
upon the paper covered table. lifted
out the broiler, set 1t beside the dish,
slipped the edge Of the dish well
under the bag resting upon the
broiler, showed 1t wen to the middle
and opened it. Then came forth in
full strength the smell OF fsh not
iraukly otfensiseyI but inviting, Inside
the bag theFs1@as halEbnt, ala min.
utelits had been II cooking fifteen
minutes wasd done TO q turn, fiaky,
flayorous, andI1 itera1ly swimming in
a. sauce ofsttsE own juices, mingled
with those ot1the tomatoes covering
1t, the lemopathat had been squeIzed
Onto andEtbe l1utters with which at
had been llberally dotted. 30 m ii nom
i!lFpogolhgith itothere were baked .pos
itatoes 7=baked Ilinr d Obsgp 0ands mealy,
without trace of scorch. The, diners
vowed they had new, a singularly,
fine favor, somewhat approaching
that OF roasted chestnut. They
praised the ashland ate in a way.
TO show 1t deserved the praise. Still,
I think they wondered a bit-was this
one bagful all they were to get by
way Of reward for coming all the way
to Harlem? They had not noted that
the stove was still in commission
possibly through seeing neither pot
nor pan on top Of 1t.
But when they were graciously per-
United to help take away the fish
course and see the taking up of a
steak, also in bag, they evidently
felt better. Especially when the po-
tato bag yielded sweets, which, had
been cooked along with the white
ones, and kept warm underneath, and
still another bag furnished tomatoes
stuffed with scraped corn. The toma.
toes had cooked little too long, and
came out pretty much huddled, but.
good for all that. They were eaten
to the last shred+-the steak also
looked pretty ghostly at the finish.
z Since this was a bag dinner salad
was conspicuously absent. Room must
be; left for the apple dumplings. When
they came on, my dinner guests plain:
~ suspected me Of the black art. The
dump1ings, made ready in advance,
had been bagged as the bell was ring.
ing, popped in the oven after had
welcomed my company, and had
cooked there while we ate the other
things. The saucevfor Them also pre-
viously prepared, had kept warm over
hot water. in something covered, II
anybody ever made better dumpllngs,
1t was never my luck to eat thereof.
Black coffee, fruit and cigars for
the gentlemen, wound up the perform
ance. In three hours, working single
handed, set my table, cooked my
dinner, having all materials in. hand,
read an evening paper, and even loaf,
ed a minute or two now and then.
Copyright. 1911, by the Associated
Literary PressO