It is not difficult to plan a good dinner. Secure a juicy steak or roast, one or two vegetables, a salad, and a dessert; prepare each according to your favorite method; serve simply and the feat is accomplished. To one who has mastered the art of a cheerful breakfast, and an attractive supper, the thought of company for dinner is not at all startling. Yet in the course of 365 dinners each year, one is apt to drop into a sameness of menus that is alarming

Bailey, N. Beth

English

It is not difficult to plan a good dinner. Secure a juicy steak or roast, one or two vegetables, a salad, and a dessert; prepare each according to your favorite method; serve simply and the feat is accomplished. To one who has mastered the art of a cheerful breakfast, and an attractive supper, the thought of company for dinner is not at all startling. Yet in the course of 365 dinners each year, one is apt to drop into a sameness of menus that is alarming.</p

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2 THE lOW A HOMEMAJ(ER Even Dinners Need Varying-365 Times a Year By N. BETH BAILEY, Associate Professor ot Home Economics The Main Course of Dinner Is Built Around the Meat-the Smaller Dishes Being "Fillers-In." I T IS not difficult to plan a good dinner. Secure a juicy steak or roast, one or two vegetables, a salad, and a desser t; prepare each aocording to your favorite method; serve simply and the feat is ac-complished. To one who has mastered the art of a cheerful breakfast, and an attractive supper, the thought of com-pa uy for dinner is not at all startling. Yet in the course of 365 dinners each year, one is apt to drop into a sameness of menus that is alarming. The heartiness of the dinner depends on the other two meals. In many fam-ilco, supper and dinner are almost equal in the amount of food served, while in other homes, dinner is preeminently the big. meal. In winter, a hot soup is the best pos-si·ble beginning for a dinner. If a puree, cream or vegetable soup is served, the remainder of the meal should be lighter because these soups are high in .fuel value. A meat broth serves only to whet the appetite 'and is best for beginning the dinner . A fruit cocktail may be used as the opening course for "company" or Sun-day dimi.ers for this tart fruit, only slightly sweetened and well chilled is best. It is a mistake to use whipped cream on a fruit cocktail, since the acid flavor should predominate. The addition of whipped cream makes the cocktail a dessert and not an appetizer. Most men prefer a cocktail of oysters, crabmeat, or clams served chilled with a piquant dressing, as equal parts of horseradish, catsup and worcestershire sauce. But if such a course is used, it must fill the re-quirements for stimulating, not satisfy-ing, the appetite; that is, it m ust be high in flavor, it must be acid, not sweet, and it must be served in small portions. The main course at dinner is built around the meat or meat substitute. It is sometimes difficult to get veal or lamb, but too many women disr egard these meats anyway and use only beef, pork and chicken. In one family there was a rule that the same kind of meat dish should not appear for two weeks. That meant that cook books and mag-azines were watched for new ideas to supplement the proverbial ham, steak, pot roast, and stew. Fish is a splendid meat substitute and should be used more often. Even though fresh .fish is not a lways available, one can get canned salmon, fish flakes, tuna, crab, lobster, shrimp, oysters, and dried codfish. These may be used in loaves, souffles, escalloped dishes alone or with potatoes, tomatoes, cheese, or some added flavor. A very likeable dish is made by boiling one cup of cubed potatoes with one cup of soaked codfish or fish flakes. When the potatoes are done, drain, mash, add one tablespoon of butter and enough milk to give the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add one egg and beat. Spread in a greased frying pan, cook and fold as an omelet. Serve at once with a tomato sauce. Meat pies may be varied by using c'.~oked rice, hominy, macaroni, or mashed votatoes for the lining of the pan and for the crust instead of biscuit dough. If peas or tomatoes are used instead of meat gravy, the result is quite different. Having determined on the meat for dinner, next plan the potatoes or other vegetables. Potatoes need not always be boiled, mashed or fried. If the meat is a roast or a steak, the potatoes may be cooked with a sauce as escalloped or creamed, plain or with cheese, green pep-pers, pimentoes, or parsley. But, if the meat is cooked in a sauce, as stew, meat pie, or swiss steak, the potatoes may be baked, browned in drippings, fresh fried, French fried or boiled in the jackets. In other words, there should be a contrast in the method of serving the meat and potatoes to keep a balance of soft and solid, so that this course is neither too dry nor too wet. Of course it is not at all necessary to serve potatoes at every dinner. Rice, macaroni, parsnips, tur-nips, sweet potatoes, and salsify are very similar in composition and may be used in place of potatoes. With the meat course, one may serve a second vegetable or a salad. Especially in the spring, salads have a great charm. Their tartness, crispness, greeness, at-tractiveness, and endless variety prove of great value to the housewife. Often, the high school girl who is at the finicky, chocolate sundae, no vegetable stage, will eat, anything that is served attrac-tively on lettuce with salad dressing. She needs the minerals, vegetable acids, and health giving vitamins contained in vegetables, especially in lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, celery, onions, raw cabbage, carrots, string beans, and cauliflower. Boys and girls of all ages and adults, too, need a variety of vegetables and fruits for perfect health. Salads are not a feminine fad but are of real worth in adding fuel value and in securing the all essential variety and interest. So you may well adopt as your motto "Eat more vegetable salads." Meat and fish salads are better served at supper or luncheon than at dinner. One must also consider the richness of mayonnaise dressing and, if it is used, be sure the rest of the menu can stand this added fat. Some meats have traditional accompan-iments, as pork and apple sauce; turkey and cranberries; lamb and mint; ham and mustard or horseradish; beef and worcestershire sauce, catsup, or chili sauce. It is true that with meat one wants piqauncy or tarness of some kind, either as a hot or cold sauce, pickles, jelly, or an ice. Few consider a dinner complete with-out some form of bread or rolls, either of the yeast bread or quick bread variety, tho one reads that the formal custom is to omit bread at this meal. As to ra dessert, the type depends on the previous course. Too often pie is served regardless of all else. So pie, and especially pie a Ia mode, has become the all-American dessert. However, there is a large number of possibilties in pud-dings, cakes, gelatines, frozen desserts, and fruit combinations. A dinner of Beef soup Salt wafers Pickles Veal steak Tomato sauce Baked potatoes Cold slaw Bread Butter could be completed equally well with any one of a number of desserts, as apple cobbler, apricot tapioca pudding, prune whip, rhubarb shortcake, or quick steam pudding with fruit sauce. A dinner des-sert should not be too rich in fat, nor too large in amount. A sweet dessert gives a feeling of satisfaction, but if the meal has been heavy, a light, tart dessert may best be served as Roast pork Creamed celery Bread Sugar cookies Glace sweet potatoes Grapefruit salad Butter Coffee Coffee is the usual dinner drink. This may be served with the meat, with the dessert, or with both these courses. In many homes ,a small square of a highly flavored cheese with crackers and coffee is served instead of a sweet dessert. Cheese is so concentrated that in large amounts it is hard to digest, but a strong flavored cheese, as Roquefort or Camem-TilE lOW A HOMEMAKER bert, calls out the digestive juices and is U1uefore an aid after a hearty meal. I am reminded of the old rhyme "Oh, cheese, thou art a surly elf, Digesting all things but thyself." So we find the dinner menu is rich in possibilities of change and variety. Spring means house cleaning, but spring 3 also means n ew vegetables, fruits, and plenty of eggs; and no time of the year finds our markets more tempting. Since we must plan some three hun · dred and sixty dinners each year, use each food in its season; use it in every possible known way, and then invent some new ways. College Going · Clothes for Freshmen WHEN Dorothy arrived at college with no shoes except high heeled ones she felt very "proper" but observation soon changed her mind and tho she wore them bravely for a week at the end of that time she gladly bought her first low heeled oxfords. "I'll wear my high heeled slippers at dances," she consoled herself in accord-ance with her pratcicru common sense. "I'll really get the good of them this winter." She found directly, however, that high heeled slippers are not often the popular footgear. At all college dances, even at "dressier" affairs, low heels by far out-number others. The high heeled shoes in her dormitory closet grew dusty while the low heeled oxfords saw constant use. Likewise, certain fluffy, fussy, dresses soon came to hang quite idly in her doset. The two party frocks were used once each. Dorothy saw the error of her ways. "I wish I had known," she said with a frown. "I could have gotten lots of things I need with the money I spent on those shoes and dresses. When Jean comes here next year I'm going to tell her exactly what to get." Jean was duly graduated from the home town high school. The dresses she bought for the junior-senior banquet and for the class play were the kind that Dorothy said could be used for college-a dark blue taffeta, an orchid organdie and a sport costume. The taffeta was fresh and crisp and puffy. Its sleeves were short and full. Side panels were gathered across the hips( Jean was small) and they hung below the bottom of her dress. Her orchid organdie was full-skirted with a tight little waist. There were rows of tiny tucks around the skirt with narrow black lace on either side of the groups. The sleeves were short and puffy. A big collar edged with lace, came to the waist in front and was fastened with a little corsage boquet of many colored silk flowers and lace and nar-row black ribbon. The sport costume was a pleated skirt of dark brown plaid and a tan colored knitted sweater with round white collar, cuffs and narrow white belt. Dorothy made out a list for Jean dur-ing the summer. One warm July day she took it over to Jean's home. Jean was under a tree near the sunny tennis court with rackets and balls piled up be-side her. "Oh good!" she greeted Dorothy. "Now I'll have someone to play with me. I've been out here all afternoon waiting for someone to go by who would come in for a game." By HELEN PASCHAL EvENING DR.Ess ScHOOL DQE.ss SimplicHy and Utility Are the Keynotes of All College Going Clohtes. Dorothy dropped down on the grass beside h er. "I'll play you a game," she agreed: "But first, let me show you this list. It's pretty warm just now anyhow." "List?" repeated Jean. "What list?" Dorothy showed it to her. "Oh, yes," said J ean with interest. ' Tell me about it." She read aloud the first group: POOTWEAR 1 pair low heeled oxfords 1 pair strap slippers 1 pair of galoshes 2 pair wool hose 4 pair silk hose 1 pair bedroom slippers "One pair of oxfords will be enough to start with," explained Dorothy, "either in dark brown or black. "I'm very easy on shoes and I wore one pair all last year to school. If I were you I wouldn't get high heeled slippers for dancing, either. You'll find fairly low heeled ones much more comfortable for dancing, and they look just as nice. I'va put over-shoes on the list because I think they are the most practical fad college girls ever· had. Low shoes are not warm enough in cold weather- anyway not on as large a campus as ours. Many girls do wear wool hose and low shoes all winter but I'm sure I couldn't have gotten along without my galoshes last year." "Hats," read Jean: 1 winter hat 1 spring hat "You'll buy your winter hat before you go, of course," said Dorothy, "but until cold weather you will not wear it to school. We go bare headed as long as we can. In late winter, spring hats ap-pear on the campus to be worn until it is warm enough to go bare headed again. Chapel is about the only place to which we always wear hats." GLOVES Wool gloves or mittens Long or half arm length kid g loves "The kid gloves," expounded Dorothy, "are for dress-up occasions. The wool ones are a mid-winter n ecessity. Don't I sound like an oracle?" COATS 1 winter coat 1 lighter weight coat or cape "I don't mean that all these things must be new, Jeanie," Dorothy told her. "Your last winter's coat will be perfectly all right. Those heavy, mannish coats are peachy. The men wear sheepskin-lined coats with fur collars. The campus is so open that it is really very cold in mid-winter. "\Vhat about a suit," asked Jean·. "I want a suit this fall." "That will be lovely," answered Doro-thy. "You will wear it often. I didn't put it on the list because it is not a necessity." DRESSES 1 evening dt·ess 1 s ilk dress 1 or 2 wool dresses 

Even Dinners Need Varying—365 Times a Year

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Even Dinners Need Varying—365 Times a Year

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