Centre Piece For Dinner-Table

A very pretty centre piece may be made for the dinner-table in winter-time of oranges, bananas, pears, lady-apples and bell-flowers or other kinds of apple, and white and purple grapes, interspersed with leaves from a lemon-tree or ivy leaves. Put them in a tall, deep glass dish, with a narrow high vase in the centre, heap the fruit round the base of the vase so as to hide it completely, and fill the vase with flowers and drooping vines. This does very well when you have not an epergne that comes for the purpose to arrange them in.

Ambrosia

Peel and slice a dozen tart oranges, and grate a cocoanut; put a layer of oranges in the bottom of a large glass dish, sprinkle thickly with powdered sugar, then scatter a layer of cocoanut, another layer of oranges, sugar and cocoanut until your dish is full; cover the top with cocoanut, ornament the dish by putting leaf-shaped sections of the peel round the edge; put them on before the last layer of the orange so that they will be held in-their place, and let them curl over the side of the dish; sprinkle a little sugar over the top layer of cocoanut.

Dried Fruits

Dates, figs and raisins may be mixed in the same dish with candied fruits from the confectioners and peach-figs of your own make.

Nuts

English walnuts, almonds, pecan and hazel nuts, cream-nuts, American walnuts, shellbarks, boiled chestnuts.

Coffee

A coffeecup of unground coffee will make a quart of coffee; grind it, scald out the coffee-boiler, put in the coffee with the third part of an egg beaten up in cold water, shake it well through the grounds, add a pint of cold water, set it on the fire. When near boiling, pour in a quart of boiling water, stir it from the sides as it boils, let it boil gently for fifteen minutes, stir it from the sides, put in a tablespoonful of cold water, and set it on the back, of the range for five minutes. Scald out the urn or coffee-pot, and pour the coffee carefully in it, and serve immediately. Nothing spoils more quickly by standing than coffee. It becomes flat and loses its aroma in a few minutes. Keep it covered whilst boiling.

Tea

No good tea can be made from water that has stood a long time in a tea-kettle and boiled two or three hours before it is wanted; have it filled and boiled just as you want it, then scald out the tea-pot, put the tea in it, allowing, if black tea, two teaspoonsful for each person; pour the boiling water on it, and let it stand about ten minutes, where it will not boil, turn it into the pot you send it to table in and serve.

Chocolate

A quarter of a pound of chocolate or half a cake will make a little more than a quart of chocolate. Mix it in a little mora than half a pint of boiling water, stir it over the fire until dissolved into a smooth paste; then pour in gradually nearly a quart of milk or quite a quart, unless you like it very strong; boil it five minutes, and serve. Have the chocolate-pot very hot before you turn it in.