The menu is strawberries in little twig baskets with brown paper caps filled with sugar, planked fish with sliced cuc.u.mbers, deviled sweetbreads and mushrooms on toast squares, Saratoga potatoes, hot rolls, brandy peaches, waffles and hot syrup, coffee.
A MAYPOLE BREAKFAST.
This breakfast is given the last week in May and can be copied by the summer hostess subst.i.tuting different flowers in season. The guests are seated at small tables, each table being decorated with a different kind of flower--the iris, marguerites, sweet peas, roses, mignonette, etc.
Before each plate stands a tiny Maypole about the size of a lead pencil, wound with baby ribbon of different colors. These are souvenirs for each guest. For the first course have fresh strawberries served with their leaves and blossoms. Then a cream of celery soup served in cups.
Croutons are served with this. The soft sh.e.l.l crabs are served on a bed of water cress and radishes cut in fancy shapes. With them is served a thick mayonnaise on half a lemon; and cuc.u.mbers with French dressing.
The brown and white bread sandwiches are cut in the shape of palm leaves. Delicious orange sherbet is served in champagne gla.s.ses. Then comes broiled chicken with new potatoes, French peas and hot rolls. The fruit salad is served in head lettuce with square wafers accompanying.
The ice cream is molded in the form of red and white apples, with a cl.u.s.ter of real apple blossoms laid on each plate. With this is served a white cake with whipped cream and French coffee.
MAY BREAKFAST.
Carry out the May basket idea for a breakfast. By searching the ten-cent stores one can find little imitation cut gla.s.s baskets with handles. Use a large cut gla.s.s basket or bowl with wire handle over the top for the center of the table and one of the smaller baskets filled with pansies, valley lilies or May flowers at each place. Or make a pretty crystal wreath a short distance from the center by using crystal candlesticks with white candles and shades of gla.s.s beads, alternated by the little gla.s.s baskets filled with dainty flowers or maidenhair fern. Or use these baskets for green, white or pink bonbons. Another pretty May basket idea is to suspend little baskets of flowers from the back of each chair and use an immense basket of flowers for the center of the table. Suitable toasts for the name cards, which should be little flower baskets cut out of water color paper and decorated, would be sentences describing Mayday in various countries. Or, use sentiments of flowers.
Here are some:
The red rose: "I love you." The daisy: "There is no hope." Lily of the valley: "My heart withers in secret." The lilac: "You are my first love." Violets: "I am faithful." You will enjoy hunting for flower sentiments.
For the menu serve: Tomato bisque, wafers; sweetbread croquettes, peas, new potatoes, creamed asparagus, lemon sherbet; spring salad (radishes, cuc.u.mbers, tomatoes, with French dressing on lettuce leaf), strawberries, served with hulls on and around a paper cup or mound of fine sugar; white cake with chocolate icing.
AN AUTUMN BREAKFAST.
If one loves the reigning color, brown, give a brown breakfast in which all shades from seal to orange are used in pretty combination. A flat wreath of brown foliage extends inside the plate line. In the center of the table is a pyramid made of the tiny artificial oranges, buds and blossoms that are shown in the milliners" windows. From this pyramid radiate streamers of light brown tulle in wavy lines across the table to the wreath at the edge. Yellow candles with autumn leaf shades in yellows and browns are placed inside the s.p.a.ce between the center and the wreath. The name cards are placed inside little boxes decorated with pyrographic work and suitable for jewel boxes. The creamed lobster is served in cups covered with brown tissue paper, the browned chops, browned fried potatoes, and browned rice croquettes are served on plates decorated with a design of brown oak leaves and acorns. The ice cream is chocolate frozen in shape of large English walnuts and the little squares of white cake bear the design of a leaf in tiny chocolate candies.
A MUSICAL ROMANCE.
Have it for entertainment at breakfast with prizes for the one who answers best. Each question is answered by the name of a song.
Questions.
1. Who was the lover?
2. Who was his sweetheart?
3. In what country were they born?
4. On what river was his home?
5. What was his favorite state?
6. Where did he first meet her?
7. What part of the day was it?
8. How was her hair arranged?
9. What flower did he offer her?
10. When did he propose to her?
11. What did he say to her?
12. What was her reply?
13. When were they married?
14. Her maid of honor was from Scotland; what was her name?
15. The best man was a soldier; who was he?
16. When in the civil war did the groom and best man become acquainted?
17. A little sister of the bride was flower girl; what was her name?
18. In what church was the ceremony solemnized?
19. In the thoroughfares of what foreign city did they spend their honeymoon?
20. What motto greeted them as they entered their new dwelling?
21. Who did the bridegroom finally turn out to be?
Answers.
1. Ben Bolt.
2. Sweet Marie.
3. America.
4. Suanne River.
5. Maryland, My Maryland.
6. Comin" Through the Rye.
7. In the Gloaming.
8. Her Golden Hair was Hanging Down her Back.
9. Sweet Violets.
10. After the Ball.
11. Won"t You Be My Sweetheart?
12. If you Ain"t Got No Money You Needn"t Come Around.
13. In Springtime, Gentle Anne.
14. Annie Laurie.
15. Warrior Bold.
16. While We Were Marching Through Georgia.
17. Marguerite.
18. Church Across The Way.
19. Streets of Cairo.
20. Home, Sweet Home.
21. The Man That Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo.
The answers to the above should not be arbitrary. There are many songs that afford quite as good answers as those given above, and the score should credit anyone that makes a reply which fits the question.
A RED ROSE BREAKFAST.
"I find earth not gray, but rosy, Heaven not grim, but fair of hue."
Here is a pretty breakfast for the month of June.
Have for the centerpiece a huge bowl of jacque-minot roses. Use long sprays of the leaves and arrange the flowers very loosely in the bowl.
Have for the boutonnieres at each cover a bunch of red rose buds tied with scarlet ribbon.
The place cards are also red roses cut to the required shape from rough drawing paper and appropriately colored.
Of course the red touch will be introduced as frequently as possible into the menu. Serve tomato soup, salmon salad and claret water ice.
Cakes must be glazed in red, and the ice cream, served in artistic little baskets of spun sugar, to take the form of red roses.
Have side dishes filled with pink coated almonds and candied rose petals.