The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-30
A Homemade
ThanksgiivingD Dinner
By ELEANOR MARSH

L
Roger Chamberlin lived at home will
his mother and an older sister. The
Chamberlins were well to do and KEEP
two servants. Until recent years 8
cook and chambermaid were consider
ed essential In every well regulated
family. Half century ago excellent
servants were to be had at reasonable
| wages and were great relief and com
fort, but nowadays, when women work
! In factories, servants are scarce, In
dependent and not of the former
grade. If the Chamberlin family kept
a servant six months they thought
they were doing well. Even then many
/. Of the choice bits brought to the Ia
BILE were spoiled in the cooking. Take
it all together, the servant question
was with them what 1t is with most
families, destroyer Of domestic com.
fort.
A few days before Thanksgiving
Mrs. Chamberlin's cook left her. The
family were invited to dine with rel
alive. Mrs. Chamberlin and her daugh.
ter accepted. but Roger preferred bis
club.
Now, there was a girl, Alice Wood
ruff, who had been for some time try
ing. to land Mr.. Chamberlin, but he
had stood off, and she had been un-
able to get clutch on him. She heard
that he was intending to dine on
Thanksgiving at his club and con-
ceived the idea of putting a bait be-
fore his eyes with a hook in the shape
Of a Thanksgiving dinner cooked by
herself, for she was a natural born
cook.
Miss Woodruff wrote Mr. Chamber
lin inviting him to dinner on Thanks
giving, stating at the same time that
there would be no turkey, no cranber-
ry sauce, no boiled onions, no pump
kin pie. What would be on the table
would be cooked by herself. They
would dine alone, her mother, who
was not well, dining in her room
A hundred dollar bill dangling over
Mr.. Chamberlin's head could not have
pleased him SO much as this invitation.
1t was not only getting rid of the tur-
key and other Thanksgiving appurte-
nances. but he spent the interval be-
fore the dinner conjuring up delecta-
BILE dishes that would be on the table
He accepted at once.
Now, Miss Woodruff's plan was ell
Their stroke Of genius or doomed to a
dreadful failure. Not one woman in a
hundred is fitted to carry out such a
plan. A cook, like poet is born, not
made. Many ladies have never stud
led cookery, many have studied and
not learned it, and many who can pre-
pare a good dinner must come to the
dining room with flaming face and
apparel covered with grease spots, to
say nothing of a couture awry-a re-
polling sight to lover.
Now, listen to what Alice Woodruff
did. She cooked that dinner in snow
white apparel, her best dinner cos
tune. When Mr.. Chamberlin was an
nounced she kept him waiting but a
few minutes, when she went directly
from the kitchen to the drawing room.
Then she excused herself for a few
minutes to put few finishing touches
on to the viands and returned to her
guest, while her maid put the dinner
on the table.
II thought" said Mr.. Chamberlin,
that you were to cook the dinner
yourself"
Il have cooked 1t myself and with
no ones assistance"
"But the maid?"
"She simply serves It and acts as
waitress"
"You don't mean to say that you
cooked dinner In that costumer'
II do"
But you look as II you had Just
come out of bandbox."
II have Just come out Of the kitchen. !"
The first course was a soup, the like
OF which Mr.. Chamberlin had never
tasted before. Then there was a skip
OF the fish course, and spread eagle
chicken was produced. There were
cream potatoes with it, but the name
does not describe the dish. Those
cream potatoes are a luxury in them
selves. They were fine chopped, and
one eating them could scarcely tell the
cream from the potato, while the
parsley gave the whole a delicious
flavor. With this course was dish of
spaghetti cooked with tomatoes-mar-
velously tasty.
"This is not a course dinner" said
the hostess when these viands were
finished. There are many kinds of
dinners, but dinner to be cooked at
home by member of the family
should consist of few Dishes"
"And every one delicious, as in this
case"
When Mr.. Chamberlin saw the des.
sert come on he looked disappointed.
1t was ice cream, and men don't usual
ly care for ice cream, But when he
put this ice cream info his month no