SERVING FOOD.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 29 January 1927, Page 17

SERVING FOOD.

00 RR EOT DISH 1N G MET HODS. Airs. C. S. Peel, the writer on houseboat management, in The qjueen, liab recently written two articles o>. Hie importance or • 'dishing-up' looa correctly, or in other wor<-s, tae liiqxntance of appearance m culinary art. la summarising tne tilings to be avoided, Mrs. keel quotes Hu? following :

1. Overcrowding dishes or u.sing dishes of unsnitaule vsiy.es and shapes. What can look worse than a joint served on a dish so much too small that carving is difficult? 2. bending untidy looking dishes to table, with splashes of sauce or gravy, or loose bread crumbs on the edges oi the dish.

,A. Touring too much gravy or sauce round a dish. 4. Over-decorated. Use light simple garnishes, which should always be made of edibie material.

The preliminary to dishing up is to put the plates and dishes to heat, for hot food served on cold plates and dishes is robbed or most cl' its palatableness. Plated dishes should be warmed on the plate rack, or by ping them in very hot water. They should not be put in the oven, neither should China plates and dishes. Oven heating does no harm to iireprooi earthenware, or toughened glass, and for that reason both are admirable for hot service. Soups, which may have been made in the morning or the previous day, should be reheated slowly about 20 minutes before they are required. As soon as they reach boiling point, keep them hot over a very low gas jet, or drawn to the side of a closed range. Two or three minutes before serving boil up again. Individual soup howls are to be recommended, as the soup keeps so much hotter in them. Sauces present no great difficulty if kept hot in Bain Marie. A good substitute for this is a large tin, three parts filled with liot water. Place this on the stove, and put the pans containing sauces inside. Keep the water in the tin simmering, and if it evaporates add more boiling water. The sauces keep absolutely hot without thickening too much, or reducing. Cover the pans containing the sauces, and stir occasionally. Vegetables are easy to keep hot nowadays, as, after cooking and draining, they may be served in an earthenware casserole. Add a little butter and seasoning, and keep hot in a cool oven, or if cooking on a coal range on the hot plate, drawn a little to one side of the fire. Keep the lid on the casseroles.

If a casserole is not available drain five vegetables, and leave them in a colander. Cover with the lid of the pan, and place tlxe colander in a saucepan of boiiing water, which must not, however, touch the vegetables. Another method of keeping vegetables hot is to put them into basins, cover with a plate, or greased paper, and put them into a. steamer. This enables the cook to dish them in the hot vegetable dishes directly they are required, without having to wait for them to drain. If dishing entrees on mashed potatoes, arrange the potatoes neatly on a dish, either in a circle or clown the centre of the dish, and place the dish in a cool oven, or over a pan of hot water. Cover the dish with a basin. Vegetables used as a garnish, cut into dice, halls, or Julienne strips, may be kept hot in a pointed strainer immersed in boiling water. They are easily lilted out of the water iu the strainer, and drain in a minute.

When dishing a joint or bird, first, dish the accompanying vegetables, put on the covers, and keep the dishes in a warm place. Put the joint or bird on a hot dish, remove all string and skewers, place the dish in the oven with the door ajar, and make the_ gravy. Put this into gravy boat, and" send all to table. Make as much use as possible of casseroles and fireproof dishes, in which food of all sorts may be cooked and served, and which are the greatest boon to the single-handed cook, as they lessen the labour of washingup. Care must be taken, however, to arrange the food neatly in these dishes. Food to be fried should be prepared early, hut should not be fried until the last minute, and souffles must he eaten directly they are cooked. For that reason they should not be ordered unless the meal may he served punctually, and even then the diners should be prepared to wait a moment or two for the souffle. All garnishes must be prepared early, so that no time is lost when using them. See that folded napkins, dish papers, and so on, are placed on the dishes before the food is ready to dish. Fish should be kept hot over hot water. When serving poultry, or game, see that all adjuncts, such as bread sauce, bread crumbs, watercress, cut lemon, and so on are ready before dishing the birds.