November with Bettina
Cosy fire a-burning bright,——
Cosy tables robed in white,——
Dainty dishes smoking hot,——
Home! And cold and snow forgot!
CHAPTER LXXVIII
A FORETASTE OF WINTER
“SAY, but it’s cold today!” called Bob at the door. “Frost tonight all right! I was glad I took my overcoat this morning. Have you had a fire all day?”
“Yes, indeed,” said Bettina, “and I’ve spent most of the afternoon cleaning my furs with corn meal, and fixing those new comforters for the sleeping porch, and putting away some of the summer clothing.”
“I believe we will need those new comforters tonight. How were you fixing them?”
“I was basting a white cheese-cloth edge, about twelve inches wide, along the width that goes at the head of the bed, you know. It’s so easy to rip off and wash, and I like to have all the comforters fixed that way. I was cleaning my old furs, too, to cut them up. I’m planning to have a fur edge on my suit this winter. I don’t believe you’ll know the furs, the suit, or Bettina when you see the combination we will make together! Fur is the thing this year, you know.”
“Couldn’t you spare me a little to transform my overcoat? I’d like to look different, too!”
“Silly! Come along to the kitchen! There’s beefsteak to-night (won’t it taste good?) and I want you to cook it, while I’m getting the other things on the table. I didn’t expect you quite so soon.”
That night for dinner they had: Beefsteak, Creamed Potatoes, Devilled Tomatoes, Rolls, Butter,
Plum Sauce, Bettina’s Drop Cookies
CHAPTER LXXIX
SURPRISING ALICE AND HARRY
“WE knew you’d be here, and we’ve come to surprise you!” shouted Bob, Fred, Bettina and Ruth, as they opened the door of the new apartment which was to be the home of Harry and Alice. “We’ve brought the party with us!” and they held out several bulging baskets.
“Welcome!” smiled Alice, delightedly, as she stepped down from the box on which she was standing to hang a soft, silky curtain. Harry, tall and silent, rose, hammer in hand from the crate he was opening, and welcomed each one in turn.
“Bob and I came to be chaperones if you needed us,” said Bettina, putting on a prim and disapproving look, as different as possible from her usual happy expression.
“Oh, my dear!” exclaimed Alice’s mother, in a shocked tone. “Surely you didn’t imagine—but then, of course you didn’t—because you would naturally know that I would be here.”
Alice laughed her ringing laugh. “Mother is too literal for any use, Bettina!” And Alice’s absent-minded father looked up from the newspaper he was reading to ask what the joke was.
“The joke, Father dear,” said Alice, “is that your foolish daughter should be about to marry this solemn and serious youth!” And she turned Harry around by the shoulders till he faced her father. “But perhaps you hadn’t heard about the wedding, Father. Now don’t tell me you had forgotten!”
“Forgotten? Forgotten your wedding, Alice?” said her mother, astonished. “Of course your father hasn’t forgotten. Why, only yesterday he was saying that the cost of a trousseau apparently hadn’t lessened since Lillian was married. Weren’t you, Father? It was when your new green corduroy came home, Alice, and I was saying——” but Alice had led the girls off to show them over the apartment.
Father had retired behind his newspaper and Harry was showing Fred and Bob his own private den whither he might retire from the worries of domestic life. “Only,” observed Fred sagaciously, “since it opens off the living room, you can’t retire very far. I predict that married life will make you rather a sociable person, Harry.”
Harry shrugged his shoulders, and said nothing. “Old bear!” cried Alice, entering the room at this point. “You don’t need to be a sociable person! I like you just as you are!” And she turned to the others. “Come to the party, please. It’s all in the kitchen! We’ve made coffee, too, and everything is bee-youtiful! I love surprises!”
The “party” consisted of: Apples, Popcorn Balls, Nut Cookies, Maple Fudge, Coffee
BETTINA’S RECIPES
Popcorn Balls (Eight balls)
¾ C-light brown or “C” sugar, ¾ C-white sugar, ½ C-molasses, ½ C-water, 2 T-butter, ¼ t-soda,
2 qts. freshly popped corn, 2 t-salt, 1 T-vinegar
Place in a sauce pan, the sugar, molasses, water, vinegar and butter. Cook without stirring until the candy forms a hard ball which clicks against the side of the glass when dropped into cold water. Add the soda, stir well and pour over the corn, which has been salted and placed in a large pan. Mix the syrup thoroughly with the corn, and when partially cool, moisten the hands and press the corn into balls of uniform size. Popcorn balls should be kept in a cool place.
Nut Cookies (Three dozen cookies)
1/3 C-butter and lard mixed, 2/3 C-“C” sugar, 1 egg, 4 T-milk, 2 C-flour, 2 t-baking powder
1/3 C-chopped nut-meats (preferably black walnuts), 1 t-powdered cinnamon
¼ t-powdered cloves, ¼ t-mace, ¼ t-nutmeg
Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and milk and then the flour, nuts, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg and baking powder. Place the dough on a floured board. Roll it out one-fourth of an inch thick and cut with a cooky cutter. Place on a well-buttered and floured baking sheet. Bake twelve minutes in a moderate oven.
Maple Fudge (Eight portions)
¼ lb. maple sugar 2 C-granulated sugar, ¼ t-cream of tartar, 2 T-butter, 2/3 C-milk
Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Cook until the candy forms a soft ball when a little is dropped in a glass of cold water. Remove from the fire and let it cool. When cool, beat until it becomes creamy. Pour into a buttered plate.
CHAPTER LXXX
A DINNER FOR THE BRIDAL PARTY
THE bridal dinner, given for the wedding party by Alice’s parents, was truly an elaborate affair. As the young people, who knew each other so well, and had spent so many merry hours together, glanced across the softly lighted table, a little feeling of shyness and constraint came over them because of the formality of the occasion. Even Alice, usually the ringleader in all their fun, was a little silent.
“Shucks!” thought boyish Fred. “None of this in mine! I’d elope first! Wonder if Harry likes it! (Bet he doesn’t.)”
Ruth was thinking, “Oh, how lovely! How perfectly lovely! I believe after all—as a time to remember through all the years——” But Fred could not read her thoughts, and saw only the particularly happy smile that she gave him.
“How do you like the nut cups?” Alice asked. “Bettina made these yellow ‘mum’ nut cups as a Christmas gift to me, and gave them to me now for this dinner! See, they just match the real chrysanthemums! I’m sure I don’t know which I like best!”
The girls exclaimed so heartily over the nut cups that Bettina declared to herself that she would make sets for each of them, of different colors and kinds. These of Alice’s were really charming. Their wire handles were wound with green maline and tied with a green bow. They were filled with pecans, and pink and yellow bon-bons, which were grapes covered with colored creams.
The place cards were tied with narrow green ribbon to little china slippers, cupids, doves and hearts. Besides the yellow chrysanthemums, which were the table decorations, there was for each of the girls a corsage bouquet of pink roses, and for each of the men a boutonniere of pink rosebuds in a tinfoil case. Flower pins were tucked in the maline bows of the bouquets as favors for the girls, while scarf pins were favors for the men.
When the dinner was over, and the guests were passing into the living room for dancing and music, Alice slipped her arm through Bettina’s. “The dinner was lovely; wasn’t it?” she said. “I did think I was too tired to enjoy it, but my heart is as light as a feather now! I am going to dance all evening till my last guest goes!”
The menu was as follows: Grapefruit Cocktail, Cream of Asparagus,
Soup, Croutons, Sautéed Halibut, Potato Rosettes, Cabbage Relish in
Green Pepper Cases, Peas in Timbale Cases, Celery,
Hot Rolls, Currant Jelly, Vegetable Salad, Cheese Wafers, Brick Ice Cream, Individual Cakes,
Coffee, Pecans, Bon-Bons
CHAPTER LXXXI
REHEARSING THE CEREMONY
ALICE’S wedding day dawned clear and cold, and Bettina realized with a start all that was before her. She had as house guests two school friends of Alice’s, gay and charming girls who were, nevertheless, somewhat difficult visitors, as the little bungalow was soon strewn with their belongings and as they were completely indifferent to such a thing as punctuality.
“S’pose Geraldine’ll be in to borrow my mirror in a minute,” grumbled Bob. “How long’ll they stay?”
“‘Till tomorrow morning, dear. Hurry! You know we have to rehearse at ten o’clock.”
“Ushers and all?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t know what to do without a rehearsal, would you?”
“I suppose not. But what if I can’t get away from the office?”
“You’ll have to, Bob, for Harry’s sake. Surely you can manage it for once.”
Bob went on grumbling about the foolishness of “these fancy weddings” until Bettina consoled him with the promise of waffles for breakfast.
“And we’ll simply have to call Geraldine and Lenore,” said she. “They are going to the rehearsal with me, and I must have my morning’s work done before we start. You see I shall have them here for luncheon, and we won’t be back ’till noon.”
Bettina, with some effort, managed to reach the church with her guests shortly after ten o’clock. The nervous and excited wedding party stood about in chattering groups, and when summoned, went through their parts with many mistakes and giggles.
“How can it ever seem beautiful and solemn,” thought Bettina in despair, “when we all do it so stupidly? I’m afraid we are going to spoil the wedding!”
CHAPTER LXXXII
AFTER THE WEDDING
THE stately wedding ceremony had taken place in the big church, and Bettina, climbing into the automobile for the drive to the reception, had, for all her own part in the affair, only a confused memory of music, lights and faces, soft lavender and soft pink, and Alice and Harry murmuring their vows.
“Wasn’t it lovely, Bob? Wasn’t it stately and impressive?”
“Say, aren’t you cold?” was his prosy reply. “That church was too warm; take my coat!”
“No, indeed; I don’t need it! Oh, wasn’t it a beautiful wedding! Did Lillian and I walk slowly enough?” And she chattered on about all of the details until the house was reached.
The bride and groom were already there, and gay congratulations followed from the many guests. The dining-room, where the dainty wedding supper was served, was elaborate with palms and high baskets of roses. Tables about the room held six, and in the center, a large round table, decorated with a broad, low mound of violets and roses, was arranged for the bridal party. Here also was the bride’s cake, and the small boxes of wedding cake which the guests received upon leaving the room.
When Alice cut the bride’s cake, the thimble fell to Ruth, which occasioned much merriment, while the dime was discovered by Harry in his own piece. The ring went to Mary, who emphatically denied that the omen spoke truly. But when Mary also caught Alice’s bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley, the young people refused to listen to her protests.
“Dear Alice,” said Bettina, as she helped the bride into her traveling suit, “may your whole life be as beautiful as your wedding!”
The wedding supper consisted of: Chicken and Mushroom Patties, Fruit Jelly, Hot Rolls, Olives, Pickles, Ice Cream in Individual Slipper Moulds, Violet Decorated Cake, Salted Pecans, Fancy Candy in Tiny Baskets, Coffee
CHAPTER LXXXIII
A “HAPPEN-IN” LUNCHEON
BETTINA had finished her morning’s work and was busy with her mending when the telephone rang.
“Why, hello, Bob!” she answered, surprised to hear his voice at this time of day.
“Bettina,” said he, “could you possibly arrange to let me bring Carl Edwards and his wife home to luncheon? They blew in a few minutes ago and leave at two-thirty. We haven’t much time, you see, and they are especially anxious to see the house. They are planning to build for themselves soon.”
“Why, of course, Bob,” said Bettina, hesitating for the briefest possible second. “It’s after eleven now, but I’ll be glad to have you bring them. Let’s see—I’ll give them the salad I had planned for tonight, but I don’t know what else—but, then, I’ll manage somehow.”
“All right, dear; that’s fine. We’ll be there early—a little after twelve.”
Bettina’s “emergency shelf” was always well stocked, and before her conversation with Bob was over her mind had hastily reviewed its contents. In a very short time, her oven held escalloped salmon, graham gems and “quick pudding,” and she was setting the dainty porch table. “I’m glad the weather is so beautiful,” she said to herself, “for it is so much fun to have a hurry-up luncheon like this out-of-doors. Well, whatever the guests think, I’m sure that Bob will like my menu, for ‘quick pudding’ is a favorite dessert of his, and he can always eat several graham gems!”
For luncheon they had: Escalloped Salmon, Graham Gems, Apricot Sauce, Bettina’s Vegetable Salad, Chocolate, Marshmallows, Bettina’s “Quick Pudding”
Bettina’s Vegetable Salad (Four portions)
½ C-cooked peas, ½ C-diced celery, ¼ C-green pepper chopped, ½ C-diced cooked potatoes,
1 T-chopped onion, 2 hard-cooked eggs diced, 2 t-salt, 2/3 C-salad dressing
Mix the peas, celery, green pepper, potatoes, onion, egg and salt thoroughly. Add the salad dressing, and serve cold on lettuce leaves. Garnish with rings of green pepper and egg slices.
CHAPTER LXXXIV
UNCLE JOHN A GUEST AT DINNER
“WELL, well! In time for dinner; am I?” said Uncle John, letting in a gust of snow-filled air as he opened the front door.
“Why, Uncle John, I should say you are!” answered Bettina with delight as she removed her kitchen apron. “Do you smell my date buns? I believe you’ll like them!”
“Date buns? Never heard of anything so absurd in my whole life! What are they?” And then, without waiting for an answer, he went on, “A regular blizzard tonight, I do believe! I telephoned your Aunt Lucy that I wouldn’t be back to the farm till morning, then I found a place to leave my car, and came up here to see if I couldn’t get a bite to eat. But date buns! I don’t know about that! I’m not used to anything so fancy.”
“Well, Uncle John, there’s a salmon loaf baking in the oven, and also some lemon rice pudding, so I believe there’ll be something you’ll like.”
“Maybe!” said Uncle John, doubtfully, but with a twinkle in his eye that belied his words. “But let me see! Aunt Lucy sent you something; what was it? Oh, yes, some cream!” And he took a glass jar from its wrappings.
“Oh, Uncle John, how lovely!” said Bettina. “Won’t we just revel in cream! There comes Bob now! Get behind the door, Uncle John, and say ‘boo’! the way you used to do with me when I was a little girl!”
That night for dinner Bettina served: Salmon Loaf, Creamed Potatoes, Date Buns, Butter,
Cranberry Sauce, Lemon Rice Pudding, Coffee
CHAPTER LXXXV
DURING THE TEACHERS’ CONVENTION
“SO you’ll not be back until dinner time?” Bettina had said at the breakfast table to Bob’s cousin, Edna, and her friend, Catherine. “A whole day of it! How tired you’ll be!”
Edna laughed her ripply laugh that always made everyone else laugh, too. “Tired getting me a hat and a suit? Oh, Bettina! That makes me feel livelier than ever!”
Catherine looked troubled. “Now, Edna,” she said, “you positively mustn’t miss that afternoon meeting. I know it will be so inspiring! Remember what Professor Macy said!”
Edna laughed again. “Catherine always quotes Professor Macy as if he were an oracle or a sphinx or something instead of a nice solemn young high school teacher who’s getting a little bald!”
“He isn’t bald and he isn’t solemn,” declared Catherine with some spirit.
“Forgive me, Catherine dear! He is a lamb and a darling and everything else you want me to say!”
“I want you to say? Why, Edna, aren’t you ashamed!” said Catherine, growing very red. “Who ever heard of such nonsense?”
“I love to tease you, Catherine. It’s so easy! So you won’t help me get my hat? I want a beautiful purple one—or else a perky little black one. I haven’t decided whether to be stately and gracious, or frivolous and cunning. But I do know that I will not look as if I were about to cram the multiplication table into the head of some poor little innocent!”
“Don’t worry, Edna,” said Bob. “You won’t look that way at all. In fact, I wonder that you can be serious long enough to impress the members of the school board when they come visiting.”
“She doesn’t try to impress them; she just smiles at them instead, and that does just as well,” said Catherine. “But she’s not so utterly frivolous as her conversation sounds. She wants to hear the convention addresses just as much as I do—and I know she’ll be there this afternoon. In fact, I intend to save a seat for her.”
“Between you and Professor Macy?” asked Edna, innocently. “Or on his left?”
“Shame on you, Edna,” said Bettina. “Now you girls tell me just what you’d like for dinner! Aren’t there some special dishes you’re hungry for?”
“Pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes!” said Edna. “Our landlady never has them, and I often dream of the joy of ordering such delicacies!”
And so that evening for dinner Bettina had: Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes, Baked Apples,
Bread, Butter, Cottage Pudding with Chocolate Sauce, Coffee
CHAPTER LXXXVI
A LUNCHEON FOR THE TEACHERS
“I’LL stay at home and help you this morning; may I, Bettina?” asked Edna, looking wistfully around at Bettina’s white kitchen.
“No, indeed, my dear. It is such a simple little luncheon that I have planned that I can easily do it all alone. And you must go to the meeting. All I ask is that you won’t forget to come home at noon.”
“Edna would much rather fuss around with you in this dear little kitchen than to go to the meetings,” said Catherine, “but I won’t let her. She is always crazy to cook and do housework and things like that, but she came to this convention with me, and I intend to have her get the benefit of it. Do you hear me, you bad girl? It’s almost time for us to be there. Go and get your things!”
“This is the way I’m managed all the time!” complained Edna to Bettina. “Do you wonder that I look thin and pale?”
“Poor Edna!” said Bettina, smiling at her round figure and rosy cheeks. “Now do run along with Catherine. But don’t forget we’ll have three other guests at noon! So wear your prettiest smile!”
“And I’ll help you serve!” Edna smiled back.
That day for luncheon, Bettina had: Creamed Oysters on Toast, Pear Salad, Brown Bread Sandwiches, Pecan Ice Cream, Sponge Cake, Mints, Coffee
CHAPTER LXXXVII
RUTH COMES TO LUNCHEON
“BETTINA, what makes the gas stove pop like that when I light it? I’ve often wondered.”
“Why, Ruth, that’s because you apply the match too soon. You ought to allow the gas to flow for about four seconds; that fills all the little holes with gas and blows out the air. Then light it, and it won’t pop or go out. The flame ought to burn blue; if it burns yellow, turn it off, and adjust it again.”
“Well, I’m glad to know that. Sometimes it has been all right and sometimes it hasn’t, and I never realized that it was because I applied the match too soon. I’m glad I came today.”
“I’m glad, too, but not because of instructing you, I’m not competent to do that in very many things, goodness knows! When I called up and asked you to lunch, it was because I had such a longing to see what lovely things you’d be making today. You will have the daintiest, prettiest trousseau, Ruth!”
“I love to embroider, so I’m getting great fun out of it. I tell Fred it’s a treat to make pretty things and keep them all! They were usually for gifts before! Oh, lobster salad?”
“No, creamed lobster on toast. There, Mister Lobster, you’re out of your can. I always hurry him out in double-quick time onto a plate, or into an earthen-ware dish, because I’m so afraid something might interrupt me, and I’d be careless enough to leave him in the opened can! Though I know I never could be so careless. Then I never leave a metal fork standing in lobster or canned fish. It’s a bad thing.”
“I knew about the can, but not about the fork, though I don’t believe I ever do leave a fork or a spoon in anything like that.”
“Would you prefer tea, coffee, or chocolate with these cookies for dessert?”
“Coffee, I believe, Bettina. Aren’t they cunning cookies! What are they?”
“Peanut cookies. I think they are good, and they are so simple to make. They are nice with afternoon tea; mother often serves them. There—lunch is all ready but the coffee, and we’ll have that last.”
Luncheon consisted of: Creamed Lobster on Toast, Head Lettuce, French Dressing with Green Peppers, Bread, Butter, Peanut Cookies, Coffee
CHAPTER LXXXVIII
THE HICKORY LOG
“SAY, this feels good!” said Bob, as he warmed his hands by the cheerful blaze.
“Doesn’t it!” said Bettina, enthusiastically. “And see, I’ve set the dinner table here by the fireplace. It’s such fun when just the two of us are here. Isn’t the log burning well?”
“I wondered if we could use one of our new logs tonight—thought about it all the way home. And here you had already tried it! November has turned so much colder that I believe winter is coming.”
“So do I, but I don’t mind, I don’t want a warm Thanksgiving.”
“Dinner ready? M—m, what’s that? Lamb chops? Escalloped potatoes? Smells good!”
“Come on, dear! After dinner, we’ll try those nuts we left so long out at Uncle John’s. Do you think they’re dry enough by this time? Charlotte phoned me that they had tried theirs, and found them fine. By the way, she and Frank may come over this evening.”
“Hope they do. Listen—I hear a car outside now.”
“Sure enough, that’s Frank and Charlotte. Go to the door, Bob! We’ll persuade them to eat dessert with us…. Hello, people! Come in; you’re just in time to have some tea and a ginger drop-cake apiece.”
“That’s what we came for, Bettina!” shouted Frank, laughing. “And then you must come out in the car with us. It’s a beautiful, clear, cold night, and you’ll enjoy it—if you take plenty of wraps!”
For dinner that night Bettina served: Lamb Chops, Escalloped Potatoes, Egg Plant, Bread, Butter,
Ginger Drop-Cakes, Tea
CHAPTER LXXXIX
SOME CHRISTMAS PLANS
“CHRISTMAS is in the air today, I believe,” said Charlotte as she took off her hat and warmed her cold hands at Bettina’s open fire. “You ought to see the children around the toys downtown—swarming like flies at the molasses! Still, we ought to think about Thanksgiving before we begin our Christmas plans, I suppose.”
“I try to get all my Christmas packages ready by Thanksgiving,” said Bettina. “Of course, I don’t always succeed, but it is a splendid aim to have! There is always so much to do at the last minute—baking and company and candy making! This year we plan to give very few gifts—but to send a card at least to each of our friends. We’re racking our brains now to think of something that will be individual—really ours, you know. I think a tiny snapshot of yourself or your home, or your baby or your dog—or even a sprig of holly or a bit of evergreen on a card with a few written words of greeting means more to a friend than all the lovely engraved cards in the world! Of course, some people can draw or paint and make their own—Alice will, I’m sure. One girl I know makes wonderful fruit cake, and she always sends a piece of it, in a little box tied with holly ribbon, to each of her friends. Aren’t the little gifts that aren’t too hard on one’s purse the best after all—especially when they really come straight from the giver, and not merely from the store?”
“Bettina, I’ll be afraid to send you anything after such an eloquent sermon as this!”
“Oh, Charlotte, how you talk! I’m telling you my idea of what a Christmas gift should be, but I’ll probably fall far below it myself! Luncheon is ready, dear.”
For luncheon Bettina and Mrs. Dixon had: Mutton in Ramekins, Rice, Peanut Bread, Butter,
Apple Sauce, Tokay Grapes, Coffee
CHAPTER XC
AFTER THE FOOTBALL GAME
“THERE are the men now,” said Mrs. Dixon, rolling up the hose she had been darning.
“Good!” said Bettina. “The dinner is just ready for them, and I’m glad they didn’t keep us waiting.”
“Hello! Hello!” shouted Frank and Bob, letting in a gust of cold air as they opened the door. “Whew! It’s cold!”
“How was the game?”
“Fine! 39 to 0 in favor of Blake!”
“Not very exciting, I should think.”
“Still, Frank here wanted to bet me that Blake would be badly beaten!”
“Frank!” said Charlotte in exasperation. “Is that the way you show your loyalty to your home college?”
“Shame on you, Frank!” grinned Bob. “Well, dinner ready? I’m about starving!”
“Bettina has a regular ‘after-the-game’ dinner tonight,” said Charlotte. “Just the kind to make a man’s heart rejoice!”
“Hurray!” said Bob, stirring up the grate fire. “And afterward we’ll have our coffee in here, and toast marshmallows. Shall we?”
“Suits me!” said Frank. “Anything you suggest suits me, if it’s something to eat.”
“Dinner’s ready,” said Bettina. “Come into the dining-room, people, and tell us about the game. Charlotte and I have mended all your hose this afternoon, and we deserve a royal entertainment now.”
“Bettina,” said Frank, “do you expect us to talk when you set a dinner like this before us?”
The menu consisted of: Flank Steak, Braized with Vegetables, Cabbage Salad, Bread, Butter, Brown Betty with Hard Sauce, Coffee
CHAPTER XCI
A THANKSGIVING DINNER IN THE COUNTRY
AFTER all the excitement of Alice’s wedding, Bettina was more than delighted when she and Bob were invited to a family dinner at Aunt Lucy’s on Thanksgiving day. “It always seems to me the most comfortable and restful place in the world,” said she to Bob. “And Aunt Lucy is such a wonderful cook, too! We’re very lucky this year, I can tell you!”
“Who’s to be there?”
“Father and mother—we are to drive out with them—and Aunt Lucy’s sister and her big family. Thanksgiving seems more natural with children at the table, I think. And those are the liveliest, rosiest children!”
Bob had slept late that morning, and consequently had eaten no breakfast, but he did not regret his keen appetite when Uncle John was carving the great brown turkey.
“The children first, John,” said kind Aunt Lucy. “The grown folks can wait.”
Little Dick and Sarah had exclaimed with delight at the place cards of proud turkeys standing beside each plate. In the center of the table was a great wicker basket heaped with oranges, nuts and raisins.
“It doesn’t seem natural without pumpkin pie,” said Aunt Lucy, “but John was all for plum pudding instead.”
“We can have pie any day,” said Uncle John, “but this is a special occasion. What with Dick here—and Sarah—and Bettina—who’s some cook herself, I can tell you!—I was determined that mother should show her skill! And she did; didn’t she?”
The menu was as follows: Turkey with Giblet Gravy, Oyster Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Onions, Cranberry Frappé, Bread, Celery, Butter, Plum Pudding, Hard Sauce, Nuts, Raisins, Coffee
THE THANKSGIVING DINNER RECIPES
Roast Turkey (Fourteen portions) 1 12-lb. turkey
The turkey should be thoroughly cleaned and washed in a pan of water to which one teaspoon of soda has been added to each two quarts of water. Wash the inside with a cloth, rinsing thoroughly, allowing plenty of water to run through the turkey. Dry well and stuff. Season all over with salt, pepper and butter. When baking, lay the fowl first on one side, then on the other until one-half hour before taking from the oven. Then it should be turned on its back, allowing the breast to brown. A twelve pound turkey should be cooked three hours in a moderate oven, basting frequently.
CHAPTER XCII
PLANNING THE CHRISTMAS CARDS
“AND what is in this dish, Bettina?” asked Bob, as he lifted the hot cover.
“Candied sweet potatoes, dear, and I’m almost sure that you’ll like them. I made them in the fireless cooker, and they’re really more candy than potatoes.”
“They’ll suit me, then,” said Bob. “The sweeter the better! My mother used to cook up candied sweet potatoes with a lot of brown sugar syrup—say, but they tasted good about this time of year when I would come in from skating! Well, I believe these are exactly like hers!”
“Only hers weren’t made in a fireless cooker,” said Bettina. “Now, Bob, as soon as you have allayed your hunger a little we must put our heads together long enough to get an idea for Christmas cards. If we have something made, it may take several weeks, and you know it is no small task to address several hundred of them. As soon as we have ordered them, we’d better make out our Christmas list. But first, what shall the cards be? Think, Bob!”
“Goodness gracious sakes alive, but thinking is hot work! Well, how’s this? Suppose we don’t have cards engraved—they’re expensive, and besides, ‘twould take too long! We’ll find some plain white correspondence cards—or perhaps white cards with a red edge—and envelopes to go with them, and in the corner of the card we’ll stick a tiny round snapshot of the house. Then we’ll write this verse very neatly and sign it ‘Bettina and Bob.’ Perhaps you can improve on this, however:
“We enclose our Christmas greetings
And the hope that we may know
Many happy future meetings
In this little bungalow!”
“Bob, that’s the very thing!” cried Bettina.
For dinner that night they had: Beefsteak, Fireless Sweet Potatoes, Creamed Carrots, Pineapple Charlotte, Custard Sauce
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