CHAPTER II.

GERMAN, DUTCH AND BOHEMIAN SUPPERS--SOME QUEER GERMAN SUPPERS--A DUTCH SUPPER--BOHEMIAN SUPPER FOR MEN--THE DUTCH SUPPER.

SOME QUEER GERMAN SUPPERS.

At the following suppers German wines or beers are served during the meal when desired:

_Beer Bouillon_ _Fricandeau of Veal, with Macaroni_ _Cauliflower_ _Cold Pullet, with Apricot Compote_ _Chocolate Souffle_ _Coffee_

_Herring Broth_ _Pork Cutlets_ _Cold Turnips_ _Sour Roast Meat Sliced, with Pear Compote_ _Orange Jelly_ _Small Cups of Coffee_

_Sardines_ _Turbots_ _Carrots, Creamed_ _Slices of Venison, with Cranberry Compote_ _Omelette_ _Black Coffee_

_Plum Bouillon_ _Salmon with Butter_ _Fillet of Beef with Mushrooms_ _Creamed Asparagus_ _Duck with Currant Compote_ _Ices_ _Black Coffee_

_Crab Broth_ _Cold Slices of Beef, with Plum Sauce_ _Sour Potatoes_ _Belgian Hare, Sour Cream Sauce_ _Crackers and Cheese_ _Small Cups of Coffee_

In Germany the rich and poor alike have the same taste for strange and extraordinary dishes, though these are prepared in a more costly manner in the houses of the wealthy. The German "geschmack," to borrow their own word, seems different from that of other nations. A waiter who had the selection of a menu for the principal officers' mess in Berlin, when questioned stated that all the sweets were regularly struck out by the officer who revised the bill of fare with the remark, "Give us only sour." That the Germans, however, lay great stress on the culinary art is best proved by the fact that in the German domestic exhibition, recently held in Berlin, the recipes were sold at the rate of 12-1/2 cents apiece and freely bought at that price.

The Germans have a greater variety of soups, including chowders, broths and bouillons, than any other nation of Europe. Most peculiar are their beer soups. One of the most popular of these is beer and raisin soup, which, in the form of chowders, broths, bouillons and soups, is served for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers. It is made as follows:

Boil a sufficient quantity of raisins in water with a slice of bread in it until the raisins are soft. Then pour in beer till the mixture tastes quite strong. Sweeten with sugar and when it boils add from a half to a whole teaspoonful of flour thickening. Stir the liquid and add whisked eggs or cream.

It might seem the height of human imagination to combine beer and raisins in a soup or bouillon, but the Germans proceed a step further and make a favorite soup, broth or bouillon out of beer and milk, which are mixed together in the proportion of two pints of milk to one pint of beer and prepared with the addition of currants, flour and salt. Fruit soups, broths and bouillons of all kinds play an important part at German luncheons, dinners and suppers, and really some of them are delicious. Perhaps the best is a strawberry decoction which is made as follows:

Boil some biscuit powder in water. Add wine, sugar and cinnamon according to taste. In case the mixture is not thick enough stir in a little corn flour. When this has boiled take it off the fire and put in some cupfuls of ripe strawberries which must have lain an hour with sugar over them. Serve as soup, broth or bouillon.

Fish soups are also very usual, the chief fish employed for the purpose being the carp and the pike. Indeed the Germans seem able to make soup out of anything and, not only to make it, but enjoy it.

Vegetables at German dinners, luncheons or suppers are always served in a special course by themselves, being served cold at suppers. They are dressed with oil, butter, or drippings, never boiled in water as we cook them. These fats are placed in a saucepan and allowed to boil before the vegetables are put in. Suet may be used instead of the above. Of course, this method of dressing does not always apply to potatoes--which are boiled in the American manner, though served in a countless variety of ways. They are served with melted butter and parsley sauce as a dish by themselves. They are served with sour milk sauce. Other preparations of potatoes are too numerous to mention, but we may briefly enumerate sour potatoes with bay leaves (the latter being boiled with them), potato fritters, potatoes and apples, potatoes and pears, potatoes and damsons, potatoes and vermicelli, etc. Some of these mixtures we attest, from personal experience after tasting them, are not so unsavory as at first sight might appear. The potato is a vegetable of undecided flavor and lends itself to combinations with sweet fruits in an extraordinary manner. Indeed by the addition of sugar in some of the German dishes it would pass for a fruit itself.

Sour roast meat is a favorite with Germans. The extraordinary taste which finds pleasure in eating this sour meat is little less remarkable than the strange way in which the viand is prepared. Whey is first taken and curdled with vinegar, and the meat is laid in this, the whey and vinegar being changed every two days. This preliminary pickling goes on for more than a week until the meat is thoroughly sour and sodden. If not sour to the last degree the cook has orders to baste it with vinegar while roasting, so as to secure the extreme point of acidity. Before it is put to the fire the cooks often slash it, and rub it with cayenne pepper, onions, turnips and the crust of black bread so as to give it some recondite flavor, with the merit of which we are unacquainted. When finally cooked, it is eaten by Germans with as much relish as a fine sirloin is by Americans. This meat is very popular when served cold at suppers.

At German suppers along with the meat is eaten the "compote." This is a species of preserved or stewed fruit, which is served on little glass plates, and lies at the side of the supper plate. It is not an uncommon sight to see a German at supper or dinner putting methodically a piece of meat in his mouth and next instant a spoonful of cranberries or stewed apricots, and repeating the process indefinitely as long as the meal lasts. The little glass plate on which the "compote" lies is lifted to the mouth along with the spoon, replaced on the table, and then the German attacks his meat for another mouthful only.

A DUTCH SUPPER.

Some cold night try an American version of a Dutch supper. Have the place cards in the form of Hans Brinker with the silver skates, or sketches of Henriette Ronner's famous cats. A windmill for a centerpiece and copies of the wooden shoes for bonbons and nuts.

Use Delft china and of course the coffee must be from Mandheling or Padang--the best Java. From a German bake shop get the bread, either "Kummel," (which is rye with caraway seeds), or Pumpernickel. Be sure and have herring and anchovies in some form--anchovy toast is nice. The simplest way to prepare this is to toast white bread cut in strips, then spread each with butter and essence of anchovy. Fry some fine oysters. Prepare plenty of cabbage salad or cold slaw, with boiled dressing. From a delicatessen store procure dill pickles and a nice Edam cheese.

After these, serve rich compotes of fruit--cherry and plum, with anise seed cookies and little nutmeg and cinnamon cakes, so that if, perchance, dreams follow, they will be of the tropic seas and the fragrant breezes of the Dutch spice islands.

BOHEMIAN SUPPER FOR MEN.

Here are two ideas for a Bohemian supper. Knowing that men prefer substantial dishes with generous helpings to a great number of fancy "messes" as they term it, we would therefore suggest a Beefsteak supper. First serve raw oysters. After the oysters have the steaks brought in on separate platters, placing platters before the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, etc, guests. These men cut the steak for the men on their left and right. With the steaks serve French fried potatoes and the Vienna bread or rolls, the very hard crusty kind. For the second course serve cheese, a rarebit on hard crackers, or any strong cheese. Serve ale or beer with this supper and no sweets. In buying the steaks the chef will have to pay more attention to the quality of the meat, than size and appearance. The steaks should be broiled over coals and served piping hot in their own gravy. The second menu includes one hot dish, a rabbit fricasse or stew. Any chef (especially German) can prepare what is called "Hassenpfeffer stew." This is rabbit soaked in vinegar and cooked with certain herbs and is liked by Bohemians. With this serve potato salad and cold dishes, Swiss cheese on rye bread, Westphalian ham, Frankfurters, Bologna, cottage cheese with chopped chives, dill pickles, Spanish onions sliced in vinegar, French mustard, radishes, spring onions, pickled beets and pickled eggs, pickled herring. Serve black coffee, beer or ale with this supper. Have the sandwiches in baskets and the condiments in the four-part dishes, everything on the table and no waiters save for the liquors. Sardines on toast will make a good first course or appetizer for this dinner. If one has a few pieces (violin, cello, bass viol, flute) to play Hungarian airs during the dinner it will please the guests. The table should be bare of cloths of any sort. Arrange as a center decoration a miniature prize fight. Have a small platform roped off with silk cords, toy figures of pugilists labeled, and all the accessories. For each guest a toy figure of a hunter, football player, golfer, prize fighter or any desired athlete could be used. On the back of the figure hang something which will refer to some particular fad or joke on the member. For instance, if one has met with an accident in hunting put a bit of porous plaster on the back of the figure. If one has won a trophy, hang a tiny loving cup or stein, etc. In place of the toasts try this: Arrange with a man at the telephone exchange to ring up the telephone in the house every ten or fifteen minutes during the dinner. Ask one man to answer the 'phone and carry on a fake conversation taking off different members of the dinner, incorporating the question in his answer. This will keep the crowd roaring. A man with a megaphone describing a race or fight will keep the crowd in a good humor.

THE DUTCH SUPPER.

The plebian Dutch supper is the very latest mode of dispensing hospitality, and has, as yet, the charm of novelty.

The hours range from six in the evening until midnight, and during the heated term is very popular as the windup of a trolley or automobile ride.

Now, it would not do to seat an American crowd to a genuine Dutch supper, in all its glory of limburger and sour-kraut, but relieve it of the disagreeables, and a menu, not fancy, but simple and eatable, remains.

The table must be covered with the whitest of linen, while the decorations should be blue and red, thus to combine effectively Holland's national colors, which, by the way, are not the same as our own.

The center is occupied by a great dish of stuffed eggs, garnished with parsley, the green sprays trailing on the cloth; as a companion to this, there is a large platter of thinly sliced ham, cold, but the "weinies" must be steaming hot. Then there is a salmon salad encircled by water cress or nasturtium leaves, and at intervals, dainty mounds of potato salad. Tomatoes with French dressing (with onions would be more in keeping), small saucers of cheese, sweet and sour pickles, olives, slaw (instead of sour-kraut), bread, in layers of white and brown, and last, but by no means least, smear-kase, served individually.

Pretzels and fruits, which may include any and all kinds, form the dessert, and can be most artistically arranged by a tasteful person with deft fingers.

Beer, in mugs, is, of course, the correct beverage, but the lighter wines are also permissable.

One charming feature of the supper is that it is served cold and all together, which leaves the hostess free to enjoy her guests without fear that something will go wrong in the culinary department.

Now, like everything else, the Dutch supper can be made elaborate, and the bill of fare extended and put in courses, but a friendly gathering about a homely meal, where one naturally feels at ease, will appeal to most as preferable.