The Happy Life of a Duchess

Three types of bread are made to go with the soup, and two types will be served.

This is what Adele has already ordered. One is the sourdough bread that she prefers personally. Although the soft bun she asked for before is her favorite, it is not suitable for soup at formal dinners; the other is the common Hard baguette, this is a traditional taste and one of the most commonly used combinations.

Bread is for satiety. In order to satisfy some male guests who may have a big appetite, the bread on the soup must be large enough, and the bread crust must be the kind that can be dipped in the soup to ensure that both male and female guests can accept it.

Sourdough bread is big and small, with a soft and hard taste. The outer skin is crispy, but not as crispy as the slag, and the inside is softer. It takes seven or eight hours for the chef to make it. This kind of coarse-grain sour bread made of pure natural yeast Very hungry.

One is round, and it is a test of the chef's basic skills in making bread. Even if it is a lady with a small appetite, it is enough to cut it into four pieces, and take one or two slices to eat, so that the remaining part will not look indecent.

The acidity of sourdough bread can be controlled by controlling the production and ratio of natural yeast, but as far as she knows, most of the visitors can even accept the sour cucumber pickles from Prussia or Russia with a smile, and sourdough bread is not used to The food is just average taste, so there shouldn't be any problem.

For some guests with special tastes, Adele also prepared butter and several dipping sauces, including salty, sweet and fruity flavors.

The small dishes for the sauce are separated by four-leaf clover, put the dishes together and put them together, and serve the whole set directly to the guests if necessary, and it looks good.

"Just these three..."

Because Adele had to eat too many varieties, she didn't drink as much bread or soup as she usually did when eating.

She ordered the soup bowls in front of her, and the butler was serving them, and nodded after looking at them.

Adele thought for a while and added an explanation.

"The vegetables in the 'Nutritious Soup' should be chopped a little bit more, because the stew is very bad. If the vegetables are too big, they will not look good in it, so they should be diced, and the meat should be fresh. I personally prefer I prefer chicken stuffing, if you have other creations, you can bring them over and try again... Oh yes, when serving to Marianne, don’t put carrots, if she wants a nutritious soup.”

While wiping her hands, she gave orders. The chef and the housekeeper listened carefully and wrote down that the nutritious soup was bouillabaisse that had been cooked for a long time, but it had a nice name.

"Then there is this 'Shrimp Soup in Sauce'. When the time comes, let Mr. Yule arrange good seafood prawns. When you go to the kitchen to pick them, pay attention. You can choose the types of shrimps according to the materials. It should be ready in the morning." Send it here, I have already told the other side, make sure to use fresh shrimps to prepare the sauce in advance, and it will be delicious when it is cooked at night."

"'Queen's Soup' ah...the soup is reserved," Adele hesitated, and finally ordered the soup filled with partridge meat in front of him. It's pretty good, since pheasant meat has been selected as the meat filling of the nutritional soup, let's choose this here."

'Queen's Soup' has a nice name, but it's just that the meat inside is different.In essence, it is also a combination of broth and minced meat, but who makes it have some origins, so it looks a bit special.

Adele put down the wet towel, and waited for the servant to remove all the tableware and plates in front of her, and replaced the second dish for her to taste.

The second course is also an appetizer, but unlike soup, it is a chowder of freshly steaming roast meat, hot pies just out of the oven, pre-prepared buns and cold ham and cold sausages , cold sausage, and some fruit mixed together.

Because there is a lot of content inside, it looks like it will be piled up high, but it should not obstruct the view of the guests, prevent them from talking to each other or passing food.

The butler said that placing it in the middle or in front of relatively unimportant guests is a common choice, so Adele thought about it and only asked to put it in the middle.

“This lamb is well done!”

Adele took a mouthful of the fragrant barbecue, and felt that her appetite seemed to be opened up again in an instant.

Although the roasted meat in the chowder is freshly roasted and still hot, it is definitely not very hot, especially to distinguish it from the next big meat dish, but the roasted meat has its own flavor of roasted meat, and the smell of the meat can instantly catch your attention. It's gluttonous.

"I remember I still have some Prussian-style bacon at home, let's arrange those in this dish." Although France also has its own sausage and bacon, Adele still thinks that the German one seems to be more delicious .

After she tasted a little of each, she shook her head to indicate that she could put it down.

There is no problem with this dish, and the taste is very suitable for her, so it should be accepted by everyone.

Beef, veal or lamb is usually the main part of the third course, which can be roasted, boiled in thick soup or made into meat stuffing. Considering that the next dish is roasted meat of birds, Adele asked to prepare a small soup. Beef, also tried many times, is also what she often eats, without any problems.

The next dish is poultry barbecue, which has both chicken and duck. Because she didn't know the specific taste of the guests, Adele simply made a mix, a piece of chicken and a piece of roast duck, and served the two together.

The meat of these chickens and ducks eaten with plant spices is relatively tender, and they all have a natural light fragrance. Adele only asks that they should not be cooked too old. In order to adapt to the different tastes of men and women, they should not be too tender. The older meat with bad teeth will be processed more tenderly.

"Is it the fifth way?" Adele counted in her heart, "Seafood?"

"Exactly." The butler nodded.

The meat of the main dish, in addition to beef, sheep, poultry, and fish, sea fish or river fish can be used.

But because Adele, the owner, likes seafood very much, the family is also used to changing river seafood into seafood.

According to the theme of the banquet, the content of the matching dishes will also be different. For example, if it is a seafood feast, it is seafood from the beginning to the end, and it is displayed in various forms. The four famous dishes of scallops, abalone, snails, and shark's fin are not. All will be served every time.

Famous French dishes that are common in later generations, such as foie gras, have some historical origins, but they have not yet officially been served on the table at this time.

What was served was a piece of pan-fried cod meat, paired with a secret sauce that was set aside for self-use, it was simply delicious in the world.

This is what Adele always likes and appreciates very much, because a single piece of cod meat looks too monotonous, and some abalone sauce caviar is poured on the side.

Adele is used to eating sea fish. Even when there was a plate of river fish and trout meat waiting for her to try, she still ate a whole piece of cod meat, and then tried a bite of trout, which was paired with trout meat What is fried is small pieces of scallop meat.

"Both are good."

Adele nodded in approval, and the sixth cold dish was served smoothly.

There was originally a dish of snail meat, but in her previous consideration, she took it out of the menu.

It is not easy to make the existing meats delicious enough. If they are done well enough to get compliments, adding a dish of snails, firstly, the guests may not be able to eat them due to their limited appetite. Secondly, she personally I don't like snail meat that much, and it's not necessary to force it out of the owner's personal preference.

It's not that the famous specialty dishes in the house are enough to have the first ones.

The cold dishes in the back are relatively simple, usually vegetable salads with sweet jelly products, served on a plate for everyone to sort and take.Commonly used vegetable cold dishes include various mushrooms that appear frequently, cabbage that can be used as decoration and edible, as well as artichokes, chrysanthemums, etc. Adele added honey-flavored red-skinned peanuts, sweet The peach kernels and walnuts are also very good-looking, and the fried snap peas are added in consideration of the preferences of some guests.

The fruit is the last part, presented in a very elaborate fruit basket style presentation.It is also placed in the middle, usually with seasonal fruits. In order to show the financial strength and level of the family, some seemingly rare fruits will also be placed.

The cut and shaped fruits are sometimes topped with jams of various flavors, or a few small bowls are placed next to the guests for dipping and eating, and next to them are some dessert chocolates, marzipan and other common favorites. The welcome desserts will be made smaller and more delicate, easy to eat and take, and there are some chocolate beans or other chocolate-flavored products.

This is usually adjusted according to whether there are children in the guests. If there are more children or are more important, then a childlike fruit plate may be served separately, with some cute snacks, so that children can take it with them. It is very convenient to eat.

Adele has no childhood impression of participating in this kind of event, but she understands the rules, but she just looked at the list of visitors who were invited, and there are no very young children in it, and they are all adults, so there is no It is necessary to be childish on purpose.

"Except for Marianna who doesn't want carrots, Mr. Angli prefers meat...I noticed that Mrs. Castellana and her husband don't seem to like sweets very much, although she is slightly rich. But the opposite is Dreiser Mrs. Hall looks thin, but she has a sweet taste when eating bread. In addition to grinding butter and sweet jam, she also specially drizzles honey on bread, so she should pay more attention to the things on her side... "

"Morgana doesn't like coriander very much. Don't use coriander when serving dishes. You can replace it with rosemary, celery, cherry tomatoes or other carvings. Mr. Duval has no obvious taboos, but he also likes seafood very much. Monsieur Armand has no taboo..."

Adele thought about what she had observed, and then told the servant all the relevant information.

Although servants will also play an important role in this kind of arrangement, whether it is seating arrangement or taste matching, the host needs to rely on his own observation and experience to deal with it.

If you want your guests to eat comfortably, apart from the quality of the food itself, the most important thing is to meet their tastes.

"The other two officers and their wives who came here... Captain Donald likes mutton very much. When serving roasted mutton, he prepares a larger amount. If he needs a second serving, remember to prepare it in advance. Lieutenant Fitch also likes meat. , especially don’t like vegetables, so when preparing other dishes and soups, remember to have less vegetables and more meat. Unlike the two of them, their wives prefer vegetables, and they have strict control over food intake and body shape , so prepare less for them..."

"Do you need to arrange Mrs. Donald and Mrs. Fitch to sit together?" Mrs. Lude asked.

"Yes, this is a problem..." Adele hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded, "The two of them like to sit and talk together, but Mr. Donald talks a lot, and Mr. Fitch is reticent. place...then let's just separate."

Although it is said that this dinner party is the first public display of the social season of the well-known Duke's Mansion, but no matter what, it is necessary to make a holiday time. Adele checked the time with Mrs. Lude and others, and it was set for Easter Then No. 40 days after the Ascension Day.

Religious festivals are basically celebrated by everyone carefully, but the way of celebration is nothing more than going to church to worship, donating money, and holding dance parties in various families, inviting many guests to come and play.

Ascension Day is not particularly important in their Catholicism, but it cannot be missed.

But Adele didn't expect that such a small but seemingly big mistake would appear before the dinner.

A set of curtains, tablecloths and other fabric decorations that were originally prepared to match the tableware in the restaurant, unexpectedly broke part of the curtains because of the recklessness of a maid.

"How could such a thing happen?"

Adele's face was full of confusion, and there was a bit of surprise in this confusion, but the anger was not as strong as expected.

She didn't blame the maid who broke the curtain because of her recklessness, she just asked the housekeeper to clarify the situation.

She was still setting the menu two days ago, and felt relieved that everything else was basically ready, and now this happened.

The tricky thing is that, like the tableware with Greek elements, this drapery set includes tablecloths, also in the same style.

The edge is a long pattern of laurel leaves, and the four corners are a combination of rhombus and snake patterns. The combination of flying fish and flying birds is the most eye-catching part of the designer's whole fabric, which is also visible to the eye.

Now the most eye-catching part has been directly cut with a long slit, and the crack in the curtain cloth several meters wide occupies most of the length.

"Isn't the set of things used this time replaced with new ones with the tableware?"

"How could it be torn directly because of the maid's cleaning and small pulling?"

The author has something to say:

The food categories and order are carried out according to the feast of the Louis XIV era introduced by Encyclopedia, and some varieties have been adjusted.