With the repeal of prohibition the young hostess has learned to offer her friends the solace and stimulation of the continental cocktail-hour. Older and more conservative women may still ask guests to a tea, but she who is young and smart and imbued with the spirit of the times, the truly sophisticated woman, dedicates the hours from five to six to those delicious drinks that give brilliancy to our fancy, mellowness to our thoughts, and make not only the food of the dinner about to be eaten but life in general taste sweeter on our tongue.
But in order to make a cocktail really satisfying and delightful it must be served with hors d’oeuvres. Hors d’oeuvres are not a mere fad of the moment. The custom of serving them is one that is age old and rests upon a very sound and interesting historical as well as physiological foundation.
HOSPITALITY AND EPICUREANISM
In serving hors d’oeuvres the modern hostess follows a custom that combines Eastern hospitality with Western, Roman epicureanism. It was an Eastern, a Chinese ideal to set before the guest a vast num-set before the guest a vast number of possible dishes-rice, sweet-meats, salads, etc.-and let him choose whatever he might fancy. Variety of fare and liberty of choice seemed most desirable to the Eastern mind and expressive of true hospitality. The Roman again, who valued good food and good drink but hated drunkenness, knew that wine and liquor was most beneficial when taken most slowly. Wine or liquor taken hastily and quickly, penetrating through the unprotected walls of the stomach into the blood stream and the heart and brain, may cloud the mind. Therefore, before his meal the Roman swallowed about a table spoon of fine olive oil. This oil lined the membrane of the stomach with a protecting film and thus prolonged the pleasures of the wine drunk at the meal.
IDEAL HORS D’OEUVRES
This, then, is our modern hors d’oeuvres: A variety of many small dishes offering a wide choice and all contrived so that oil or butter is used in the preparation. They must be tiny enough to permit one to sample almost all of them without losing appetite for the real meal which will presently follow, yet each of the little morsels must be perfect in taste and flavor. The most glorious of all is doubtlessly Canap??? ??? la Russe: small, well-buttered (always well-buttered, this is essential) pieces of bread with a little caviar, a little salmon, anchovy or whatever else you may prefer, even if it be only the simple sardine with just a dash of mayonnaise. On very, very special occasions Caviar en Blinis may be served. This dish of the gods consists of very small buckwheat pancakes, well buttered, with caviar spread on. A squeeze of lemon is added to make the morsel utter perfection. A cocktail hour managed in this way cannot fail to be a success: a delight to the fortunate guests and a testimonial to the hostess.
SPONSORS CONCERT
Mrs. Daniel Guggenheim who has for many years been instrumental in giving to New York and its citizens the splendid Goldman concerts, has just offered to sponsor again these daily concerts for their seventeenth successful season.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
