Drain large oysters; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Try out a few slices of bacon in a frying-pan; remove the bacon. Roll the oysters in fine bread-crumbs and saute until brown on both sides. Place on hot b.u.t.tered toast; sprinkle with lemon-juice and garnish with olives.

26.--Chicken a la Bechamel.

Clean and season a fat hen. Put a few slices of chopped bacon in a saucepan; let get hot. Add the chicken with 1 carrot, 1 onion, 2 stalks of celery chopped fine, 1 herb bouquet, 1 bay leaf, a few cloves and allspice and 2 blades of mace, 2 sprigs of parsley and 1 cup of hot water. Let all stew until tender; then add some chopped mushrooms and pour over all 1 cup of hot rich cream.

27.--Milanese Vegetable Soup.

Cut bacon and ham into small pieces; put in a saucepan with 1 tablespoonful of hot b.u.t.ter. Add all kinds of vegetables, cut into very small pieces and let fry a few minutes. Then fill the pan with 1 quart of beef stock; let all cook slowly for half an hour; add some boiled rice and 1 cup of tomato-sauce and cook until done. Serve hot.

28.--Swedish Salad.

Cut cold cooked fish into small pieces and mix with chopped hard-boiled eggs, a few sliced olives, capers and gherkins. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Line the salad bowl with crisp lettuce leaves; add the salad and cover with a mayonnaise dressing. Garnish with aspic, cut into dice pieces and serve cold.

29.--Oriental Rabbit Pie.

Clean and cut a rabbit into small pieces and let stew, well seasoned with salt and pepper and cayenne. Add 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 chopped green pepper, 1 Spanish onion sliced thin and 2 sliced tomatoes, a pinch of cloves and allspice. Then line a pie-dish with a puff paste; let bake and fill with the rabbit; add 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle with curry-powder. Cover with the paste; brush the top with a beaten egg and let bake until brown. Serve hot.

30.--Spanish Baked Fish.

Season a pike; put in a baking-pan. Pour over two ounces of melted b.u.t.ter and 1 pint of sour cream; then let bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes. Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and grated cheese and let brown on top. Serve hot. Garnish with parsley.

_DECEMBER._

1.--English Plum Pudding.

Soak 1 pound of stale bread in hot milk; then add 1/2 pound of sugar, 1 pound of seeded raisins, and 1 pound of currants all dredged with flour, 1/4 pound of chopped citron, 1 pound of finely chopped beef suet, 1 nutmeg grated, 1 tablespoonful of cinnamon, cloves and mace mixed together, a pinch of salt, 1 gla.s.s of wine and 1 gla.s.s of fine brandy. Mix with the yolks of 8 eggs and the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Pour the mixture into a wet cloth dredged with flour; tie well and let boil five hours. Serve with wine sauce.

2.--Swedish Rice Pudding.

Mix 3/4 cup of rice in 1 quart of milk; add 1 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoonful of vanilla. Pour into a pudding-dish. Put bits of b.u.t.ter over the top and let bake in a moderate oven until done.

Serve cold.

3.--Portugal Soup.

Boil 2 pounds of beef and 2 pig's feet in 4 quarts of water; season with salt and pepper. Let boil well. Add 1 head of lettuce, 1/2 head of cabbage, a few thin slices of pumpkin, 2 carrots and 1 clove of garlic, all cut fine, and 1 herb bouquet. Let all cook until tender; then add 1/2 can of peas. Remove the meat; cut into thin slices; season, and serve with the soup.

4.--Chinese Salad.

Mix 2 dozen cooked oysters with 3 truffles, and 2 cooked potatoes cut into shreds; season with salt and pepper. Add all kinds of chopped herbs, and moisten with white wine. Line the salad bowl with crisp lettuce leaves; fill with the mixture; sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Pour over a mayonnaise dressing and garnish with anchovy fillets.

5.--Egyptian Salad.

Mix highly seasoned cold cooked rice with some grated onion, chopped parsley and chives; add 2 dozen fine cut French sardines. Put on crisp lettuce leaves in a salad bowl and cover with a mayonnaise dressing Garnish with thin shreds of red beets, and serve.

6.--English Dumplings.

Beat 3 yolks of eggs with 1 tablespoonful of sugar; add 1/2 cup of finely chopped suet, 1/2 cup of currants, 1/2 teaspoonful of salt and a little nutmeg. Sift 1 cup of flour with 1 heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder; mix well with the beaten whites of the eggs. Make into dumplings the size of an egg; let steam. Serve hot with lemon sauce.

7.--Irish Pancakes.

Mix 1/2 pound of sifted flour with 2 beaten eggs, a pinch of salt, a pint of milk and 1/2 ounce of melted b.u.t.ter. Mix well to a smooth pancake batter and fry in hot lard to a delicate brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.

8.--English Cream Pudding.

Line a well-b.u.t.tered pudding-dish with a rich puff-paste and bake.

Then beat 1 cup of b.u.t.ter with 1/2 pound of pulverized sugar. Add the grated rind and juice of a lemon and beat well with the yolks of 6 eggs; add the whites beaten to a froth. Fill the pudding-dish with the mixture and bake until done.

9.--Bavarian Roast Turkey.

Clean and season a fat turkey. Stuff with 3 raw potatoes, 2 apples and 1 onion grated. Mix with a lump of b.u.t.ter and 1 cup of bread-crumbs; add 1 egg. Season with sage, thyme, salt and pepper; then put in a dripping-pan. Pour in 1 cup of water and dredge with flour. Let bake in a hot oven until done.

10.--Jewish Stewed Cabbage.

Shred a red cabbage very fine. Heat 2 tablespoonfuls of drippings in a pan; add the cabbage; cover and let stew with 2 apples, and 1 onion chopped fine. Then brown 1 tablespoonful of flour in hot b.u.t.ter; add 1/2 cup of water mixed with vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Pour the sauce over the cabbage; let simmer ten minutes. Add 1/2 cup of red wine; let boil up and serve hot.

11.--Venison a la Francaise.

Season venison steaks with salt, pepper and lemon-juice. Put in a saucepan with 2 tablespoonfuls of hot b.u.t.ter. Add 1 onion, 2 bay-leaves, 1 clove of garlic and a sprig of parsley minced fine. Let brown; then add 1/2 can of mushrooms, some thyme chopped fine and a gla.s.s of claret. Cover and let simmer until tender. Serve with toasted croutons and currant jelly.

12.--Italian Macaroni.

Boil macaroni in salted water until tender. Drain. Then heat 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan; add the macaroni, 1/2 cup of chopped boiled tongue, 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms, 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Cover, let get very hot. Then mix a highly seasoned tomato-sauce with a small gla.s.s of wine; let boil up and pour over the macaroni. Serve hot with roast veal.

13.--Russian Stuffed Tongue.

Take fresh beef-tongue; make an incision with a sharp knife and fill with chopped onions, bread-crumbs, a lump of b.u.t.ter, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Sew up and let boil until nearly done. Remove the skin.