Each month the Jour guests ate and drank of their hostess' best, and each month the hostess went to her guests' Jours and ate and drank of their best in return. All this happy reciprocity encouraged great inventiveness in the kitchen. No hostess would have let it be said of her anchovy-caviar profiteroles or her flûtes enchantées that they were old hat. Every lady perfected her têles de nègres and her Punscbringelcben until they could nor be surpassed. She spent months plotting her menus for the entire season according to the prescribed ritual. There were always three kinds of Bäckcrei—salt “bakery, ” cheese “bakery, ” and sweet “bakery”—a Torte, and a pièce de résistance. There was a plain cake for Jonrists who were dyspeptic-and who can blame them? And no Jour was complete without myriad open sandwiches to bewitch the eye, homemade candies, Jourkonfekt, Turkish cigarettes, and Turkish delight. There were even Turkish corners in some of the salons. Specialties were repeated—discreetly—and novelties ventured. Every Lady in Vienna, having won her Day, had to hold on to it by continually outdoing her rivals.
Although one also served coffee, Sherry, and even liqueurs, the true Jourgetränk was tea. The tea tray always bore, in addition to sugar, cream, and lemon, two very small and elegant decanters of cobalt or ruby crystal filled with rum and with Cognac. Many of the guests laced their tea with spirits, and the bottles were frequently refilled, though they were never replaced by larger ones. The footmen passed beautifully arranged trays of food in a stipulated order: first salt and cheese “bakeries” to whet the thirst and appetite, then sandwiches and Jourbrot, then sweet “bakery” and Torten. The food was not displayed as it is on our buffets, nor was it served from a central table. The footmen replenished the trays and teapots in the kitchen and periodically filled empty plates and teacups. No one ever knew how much food had been prepared, or could guess whether the supply was running low, but jour hostesses became so adept at appraising the season that even without cards of acceptance they knew how many guests they could expect. There could never be more guests than names on the list, since there was no such thing, as an uninvited guest. The hostess, unharassed by the necessity to “pour, ” sat at the left of her most honored guest, in the center of the inner circle. Most of the guests were seated and in true European fashion were introduced to each other and clasped hands in greeting.
Since the Jour always began with salt and cheese “bakeries, ” and some of the guests might have to leave before the Jour had wound its way to the Torten, these appetizers had to be, and were, especially good. Here are some of the favorites. The recipes make “party” amounts—from two to six dozen.
Cheese Roll
Beat 6 eggs in the top of a double boiler over low heat until they are thick and foamy. Remove the pan from the heat and continue to beat the eggs until they are cool. Fold in 1 cup each of sifted Hour and grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese and ½ teaspoon salt. Line a baking sheet with heavy buttered and floured paper and spread it with the batter, about ¼ inch thick. Bake the pastry in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 20 minutes.
Cream ¾ cup butter with 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese and mix in thoroughly ¼ cup each of finely chopped almonds and chives. Turn the baked pastry out at once onto a pastry board, spread it with this filling, roll it up, and wrap it in wax paper. Chill thoroughly and cut in slices to serve.
Wiener Zigarettan (Viennese Cigarettes)
Sift together 1 ½ cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon paprika. Toss the flour with 1 cup finely grated Swiss cheese, Cut in ½ cup butler, and work in 3 tablespoons cream to make a smooth dough. Chill the dough for half an hour.
Roll the dough our into a rectangle on a pastry board lightly sprinkled with part of a mixture of ½ cup each of flour and grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the dough with more flour and Parmesan cheese and fold it in thirds. Roll it out, sprinkle again with flour and cheese, and fold in thirds in the opposite direction. Roll out, sprinkle, and fold it once more. Chill the dough for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick and cut it into strips ¾ inch wide and 10 inches long. Wrap each strip in a spiral around a well-buttered stick about the size of a pencil. Brush the dough with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water and roll the sticks in grated Parmesan cheese. Bake them on a lightly buttered baking sheet in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for 20 minutes. Carefully draw out the wooden sticks while the “cigarettes” are hot. Pile them evenly on a platter to serve. Makes about 20.
Käsestangen (Cbeese Sticks)
Sift together 1 cup sifted flour. ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon paprika and toss with ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese. Cut in ½ cup butter and work in 1 tablespoon heavy cream to make a smooth dough. Chill the dough for 1 hour and roll it out on a lightly floured board into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. With a floured pastry wheel cut strips ½ inch wide and 8 to 10 inches long. Paint the sticks with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water and sprinkle them with freshly ground salt and caraway seeds. Bake the sticks on an unbuttered baking sheet in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 12 minutes and serve them warm. Makes about 4 dozen.
Pinterest
