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462 The Book of Indoor and Outdoor Games |
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may be selected, if we would be true to ancient pattern, and their vivid skins add much to the decorative effect of the table.
A branch of mistletoe with many pearly berries, tied with scarlet ribbon to the evergreen-wreathed chandelier, should have its place at a Christmas feast, though the traditional privileges it confers are not easily attainable in such a position.
The menu, written upon a square of parchment, upon which a sprig of holly or mistletoe, a boar's head, or a peacock on a silver salver might be painted, might read as follows:
Turtle Soup
Sammon
Boar's Head
Goose-rosted
A Neat's Tongue with Sallets
Plum-pudding
Mince-pies
Kickshaws
Cheese Apples Nuts
The spelling is intentional.
The boar's head, always the "piece de resistance" in olden times, is not always easy to procure, though it may be had. A young pig might fittingly replace it.
Tongue, with a vegetable salad, is an appetising dish, when the meat is like velvet and the salad combines many flavours.
The plum-pudding should be of generous proportions, round, and crowned with a sprig of holly. A holly wreath should also encircle the dish. Brandy is always poured over it and set on fire before it is brought to the dining-room. |
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