Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1880

1686 COPY OF BILL OF FARE OF A TWO-COURSE DINNER SERVED IN THE YEAR 1561.

FIRST COURSE.

Calves' Feet Soup.

Stewed Cockles. Poached Eggs, with Hop tops.

Roast Rabbit. Fried Hasty Pudding.

Broiled Mushrooms. Black-caps.

SECOND COURSE.

Fried Sprats. Stewed Tripe.

Rice Fritters. Eggs à la Mode.

Oysters on Shells. Radishes.

Black-caps.

In the following menu, dated 1720. in the reign of George I, the position of the soup in the first course, and the dish of soles at the end of the second course, will appear strange to those who have not grasped the fact that as all the dishes were placed on the table at the same time, the menu must be regarded simply as a means of conveying the knowledge of the dishes comprising the meal, rather than as an indication of the order of service. This dinner is characteristic of a retrogressive age, during which cookery in England was more substantial than refined.

COPY OF A BILL OF FARE OF A TWO-COURSE DINNER SERVED IN THE YEAR 1720.

FIRST COURSE.

A Westphalian Ham with Chicken.

Carps and Scalloped Oysters.

Soup with Teal. A dish of Sucking Rabbits.

Salads and Pickles.

A Venison Pasty. Roasted Geese.

A Dish of Gurnets. Muble Pie.

Roasted Hen Turkey, with Oysters.

SECOND COURSE.

A Chine of Salmon and Smelts.

Wild Fowls of Sorts.

A Tansy. Collared Pig.

A Pear Tart, creamed.

Sweetmeats and Fruits. Jellies of sorts.

A dish of Fried Soles.

The banquet served at the Mansion House in 1761, when George III introduced his youthful bride to the citizens of London, altogether lacks the artistic arrangement, refinement and variety which characterise