Catering for a Party Dance

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 4, 15 April 1952, Page 349

Catering for a Party Dance

CATERING for a largo number of people on a festive occasion is not difficult if the details of the evening are well organised. This article by Molly Macpherson, Rural Sociologist, Department of Agriculture, Auckland, shows how, with planned arrangements and preparations, the hostess can have a successful evening at which she can enjoy the entertainment and provide her guests with a home-made supper that will delight the eye and please the palate. WHEN a party dance is being organised decisions to be made include how many guests are to be invited, whether the entertainment will take place in the home or a public hall, the form of entertainment, and provision for music and perhaps for a photographer. All the details of planning, the crockery and linen requirements, the cooking needed, and the working plan for the preparations can be noted in a note-book. For a party dance to be held in a hall and attended by, say, 80 guests such things as trestles for the supper table, linen, crockery and cutlery, heating facilities, table accessories, and decorations need to be noted. Simple floral decorations are most effective, but if they are placed on the tables holding the food, the vases should be high enough to raise the flowers well above the level of the food. It may be possible to borrow dinner wagons, which will solve some of the serving problems. Dishes of food arranged on a trestle table or dinner wagons for buffet service should be conveniently placed so that the guests may serve themselves, and. sufficient food must be allowed for the guests to satisfy their appetites and not leave the supper table bare. Heating Savouries Hot savouries are not a necessity, but are desirable if an electric oven is available in the hall. While the oven is heating to very hot (450 degrees F.) set the prepared sausage rolls, patties, savoury puffs, and small pies on the slides, of which about four will be needed. Turn both oven elements to low and place one slide near the top element and one near the bottom element. Reverse these two trays after 10 minutes so that the savouries are heated on each side for 10 minutes. After a total of 20 minutes’ heating place the first two slides in the middle of the oven and begin heating two more slides of savouries in the same way.

The hot savouries are placed on plates, garnished with parsley, and served at the beginning of supper or during the first 10 minutes.

Serving the Food

The supper may be served in one of three ways: — On dinner wagons, which may have all the food and the serving dishes placed on them well in advance and be wheeled to various parts of the hall for the guests to serve themselves. In a supper room to which the guests may adjourn at supper time; the table may have all the food and the serving dishes placed on it well in advance. Buffet style in the hall, the food and serving dishes being set out in advance and placed ready to be transferred quickly to a trestle table erected in the hall at supper time from which guests may serve themselves. Tea or coffee cups may be served from trays during supper. The serving of the food and the dish washing may be done by experienced help, but the hostess will find many willing hands to assist her if she wishes. Recipes for Buffet Menu Fowl in Lettuce 8 fowls or chickens 4 dessertspoons of 8 medium-sized salt onions 10 medium-sized Jib. of bacon end lettuces Kill and clean the fowls 2 days before the party dance. Peel the onions and cut the bacon end into 8 pieces. Wash the fowls well and place a piece of the bacon end and one onion in each. Place two of the fowls in a large pot with sufficient boiling water to cover them and add 1 dessertspoon of salt. Bring the water to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer the birds gently until the meat is quite tender (2 to 3 hours). Cook the remainder of the fowls in the same way. On the day of the party dance make a pint of mayonnaise dressing. Wash the lettuces. Remove the onion and bacon from the fowls, cut the birds into small pieces, and place the pieces in separate lettuce leaves. Shake pepper and salt on the prepared fowl and dab mayonnaise on some of the lettuce leaves. Arrange the food on plates and garnish it with tomato and parsley.

Crayfish in Lettuce On the day of the party dance prepare the crayfish by placing each on its back and cutting it into halves lengthwise with a sharp knife. Remove the white meat, break it into pieces, and put them into separate lettuce leaves. Shake pepper and salt on the prepared crayfish and dab mayonnaise on some of the lettuce leaves. Arrange the food on plates and use the crayfish legs as a garnish with parsley. . Fruit Salad Use 10 30oz. tins of fruit or the equivalent and 2 small bottles of passion fruit pulp; 31b. of bananas may be substituted for 1 tin of the fruit. Cut the fruit into small pieces and mix them all together thoroughly. Remove the surplus fruit juice, which is used in the trifles. Put the fruit salad in a glass or earthenware container overnight to allow the full flavour of the fruit to develop. Transport the fruit salad in the container to the hall and fill 8 fruit salad bowls. A few hours before the supper is served peel and slice the bananas into the fruit salad and decorate it with the passion fruit pulp. Trifles 61b. of trifle sponge 1 pint of wine Surplus fruit juice Ginger ale to supplefrom the fruit salad ment the fruit juice 8 tablespoons of jam 1 pint of chopped 2 quarts of warm jelly custard Break the sponge into pieces and place equal quantities in 8 trifle dishes. Pour fruit juice or ginger ale over the sponge until it is wet but still retains its shape. Pour equal quantities of wine into the 8 dishes. Spread a tablespoon of jam on top of the sponge in each dish. Cover each dish with a layer of the warm custard and leave it to set. A few hours before the supper is served spread each trifle with whipped cream and garnish it with chopped Jelly. Moulded Jellies Mix jellies according to the directions on the packets. Pour the liquid into aluminium moulds and leave it to set.

To unmould jelly separate the edge of the jelly from the mould with a knife to the depth of jin. Wrap a hot wet cloth around the outside of the mould and invert the mould over a plate. The unmoulded jelly can be decorated with rosettes of whipped cream. Sandwiches and Asparagus Rolls 1J long sandwich 2 dozen fresh asparaloaves (41b. loaves) gus spears or 1 tin IJlb. of butter of asparagus spears Sandwich fillings Slice the bread thinly and butter the slices. Reserve 2 dozen slices for the asparagus rolls. Make sandwiches with the remainder of the bread, using a variety of sandwich fillings. Cut the crust from the sandwiches and cut the sandwiches (4 to every 2 slices of bread) into oblongs or triangles. Arrange the sandwiches on plates and garnish them with parsley. Shake pepper and salt on the asparagus spears and remove all the crusts from the 2 dozen slices of bread. Roll each asparagus spear in a slice of bread, cut the roll into halves, and secure each small roll with a tooth--Bick. Place them on plates and garnish rem with parsley.

Celery Boats 1 large head of celery 1 tablespoon of 2 cups of dry mashed mayonnaise potato 1 teaspoon of curry 1 tablespoon of Wor- powder cestershire sauce Pepper and salt to 1 tablespoon of taste chopped chives Wash and dry the celery. Mix the other ingredients to make a filling. Fill the hollows of the celery stalks with the filling and cut the stalks into 2in. lengths. Garnish each piece with a small piece of tomato. Place the celery boats on plates and garnish them with pieces of celery leaves. Savoury Eggs 20 eggs (at least 2 1 teaspoon of curry days old) powder 2 lettuces Pepper and salt to 2 tablespoons of taste mayonnaise Boil the eggs for 15 minutes. Pour off the boiling water and cover the eggs with cola water. When the eggs have cooled a little tap the shells gently and roll each egg between the palms of the hands. Peel off the cracked shells.

Cut the eggs into halves and remove the yolks. Mash the egg yolks, moisten them with mayonnaise, and mix in the remainder of the ingredients. Refill the whites with the egg-yolk mixture. Place each half egg in a lettuce leaf and garnish each with a small piece of tomato. Hors d’Oeuvres 1 tin of pineapple Jib. of cheese cut pieces into cubes 1 cooked beetroot cut 8 fruits (oranges, ' into cubes lemons, tree Jib. of pickled onions tomatoes, or cut into halves bananas) 7 dozen toothpicks Push the pieces of pineapple, beetroot, pickled onion, and cheese on to toothpicks so that each toothpick holds three different pieces. Push these toothpick hors d’oeuvres into the fruits. If lemons or tree tomatoes are used, 4 extra toothpicks may form legs for each fruit to stand on. Space the fruits throughout the table for decoration.

Cheese and Bacon Canapes 6 thin slices of stale 1 rasher of streaky bread bacon 3 tablespoons of grated cheese ' Spread the bread thinly with butter, remove all crusts, and cut each slice into four. Sprinkle each square of bread with grated cheese and garnish it with a piece of bacon. Bake the canapes in a hot oven (400 degrees F.) until they are golden brown. Cheese Straws 1 cup of flour Pinch of cayenne 2oz. of butter pepper 2oz. of grated cheese J teaspoon of baking J teaspoon of salt powder

Rub the butter into the flour. Add the grated cheese and then the other dry ingredients. Mix all to a firm paste with a little milk. Roll out the paste very thinly and prick it well with a fork. Cut out 8 rings, and cut the remainder of the paste into straws. Bake rings and straws in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve the straws in bundles in the rings. Savoury Puffs 3oz. of butter soz. of flour 1 cup of water 4 eggs Bring the water and butter to the boil. Add the sifted flour all at once to the boiling liquid and beat the mixture until it is thoroughly blended and leaves the sides of the pot. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg until the mixture is shiny. Put teaspoonfuls of the mixture on a cold greased tray. Bake the puffs for J hour in a hot oven (400 degrees F.), reducing the heat while they are baking. Before serving the puffs fill them with a savoury filling and garnish them with parsley. Pastry Savouries mi -i ’1 j? x _ 1 _ • a _ joe

Three pounds of fat made into puff pastry is sufficient for all the pastry savouries. The sausage rolls require 41b. of raw sausage meat and the pies ljlb. of mince, seasoned, cooked, and thickened.

. Sausage rolls: Roll half of the pastry Jin. thick and cut it into strips 3in. wide. Moisten each strip along one side. Roll the sausage meat to the same length as the pastry strips and to the required thickness. Roll the pastry strips over the sausage filling and cut the . rolls into 2in. lengths. Bake them in a very hot oven (500 degrees F.) for 25 minutes. Patties: Cut patty cases from pastry rolled Jin. thick and bake them in a very hot oven (500 degrees F.) for 20 minutes. Fill the cases with a savoury filling and garnish them with parsley. Small pies: From pastry rolled Jin. thick cut 3 dozen rounds to fit patty pans and 3 dozen smaller rounds for the tops of the pies. Fill each pie with a teaspoon of the mince. Surplus mince can be used to fill the patty cases. Bake the pies in a very hot oven (500 degrees F.) for 25 minutes.

c T Sponge Lilies and Angels ? f suear J soda °° n ° f baking | cu £ of s ur pinch of salt i teaspoon of cream 1 dozen unfilled of tartar . meringues

Beat the sugar and eggs until they are thick and foamy. Add the remainder of the ingredients sifted together. Put the mixture on a cold greased slide in teaspoonfuls and bake them for 5 minutes in a hot oven (400 degrees F.). Put only 6 lilies at a time on the oven slide. While they are still hot after being baked lift the lilies off the slide with a knife and roll them into lily shape. Place them under a cake rack until they are set in shape. Fill them with cream, decorate them, with jelly, and sprinkle them with icing sugar. ’ Angels are made from the same mixture but are slightly smaller . and not rolled into lily shape. Put one sponge and half a meringue, together with cream and sprinkle them with icing sugar. Butterflies j 2 eggs . 1 teaspoon of baking 4oz. of sugar powder 3oz. of flour Pinch of salt loz. of cornflour ' Beat the eggs for 5 minutes. Add the sugar a tablespoonful at a time and beat the mixture for 15 minutes or until it is creamy. Mix in 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add the dry ingredients and fold them lightly into the mixture. Put teaspoonfuls in patty pans and bake them in a hot oven (400 degrees F.) for 8 minutes. ■ Jam Tarts 2 cups of flour 7oz. of butter ' 1J teaspoons of Essence of lemon baking powder Jam 1 small cup of sugar Rub the butter and sugar into the flour and baking powder. Mix them with a little milk to a stiff paste. Roll the paste to Jin. thickness and cut out rounds to line patty pans. Put a teaspoonful of jam in each tart and bake the tarts in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 20 minutes; Jam tarts may be decorated with, whipped cream before being served; Photographs. by Sparrow Industrial. Pictures;?.