Ever since the period when it was proof of good breeding to substitute a French word for its German equivalent, ladies in Vienna have had their Day—and elegantly tailed it their Jour.
While Parisians made an art of the salon, Londoners were “at home,” and we held “open house.” the Viennese Jour became a delightful institution characterized by a complicated etiquette and by magnificent food.
Every house had its own jealously guarded recipes for Jourbrot, Jourgebäck, and Jourtorte, and every lady who lived in the magic Jourcycle had thirty days in which to recover from her last Jourand prepare for her next one.
Very Important Ladies automatically kept the same Jour from year to year, and in some cases even bequeathed the dates to their daughters, who thus carried on the tradition from generation to generation Less influential ladies had to compete with each other every autumn for the desirable days for the approaching season, which they called la saison, of course. The contest was not settled without near bloodshed and heartbreak. Calendars, friends, servants, and even soothsayers had to be consulted, promises were made and broken, tears were shed. No one willingly took Friday and everyone wanted Saturday. No two prominent Jourscould fall on the same day. Ne one wanted to precede or follow a long-established, famous Jour— and for good reason. Frau von Demel's carefully constructed Fürst Metternich Torte and her renowned cheese palmiers might fall completely flat if they had to follow a brilliant Jour at the Seherr-Thosses.
In this initial skirmish, normally friendly Ladies cajoled, flattered, teased, and frequently hated each other,although even at the height of the struggle they dared not risk the satisfaction of an insult, lest their own Jours be cut in retaliation. When the Jourkalender was finally settled, every Lady in Vienna had her Day, to have and to hold as her very own until the following year.
After the Jours had been allotted, work really began. The guest lists had to be fully revised; there were always names to be deleted and new ones to be added. All during the fall months, chefs, cooks, and even the Ladies themselves tested new recipes and tried to improve old ones.By the time the leaves had fallen from the chestnut and linden trees and fires were being laid in the porcelain stoves, all Vienna was preparing for the formal pleasures of the large Jours and the inimitable Gemütlicbkeit of the small ones.
Numerous Jour cards had to be written and delivered by hand. In the old days the Ladies rode about the streets of Vienna and waited in their carriages while the footman went upstairs to deliver the cards, their corners bent to show that the Lady herself was below. These longed-for visitations caused great commotion. The children and household staff rushed to the windows to re-open on the fashion of Frau Hofrätin's bat or on the latest addition to her equipage. If Frau Baronin absent-mindedly opened her parasol and thereby prevented the careful inspection of her toilette from above, she suffered for it later.
Time passed and the horse-drawn carriages disappeared From the cobbled streets of Vienna, but the Jour cards were still delivered by the footmen—with corners unbent, for the personal touch was gone. This was, however, a great convenience to the footmen, who simply met in a centrally located Kaffeebaus and exchanged cards over a sociable cup of coffee.
The favored families displayed the eagerly awaited cards proudly: they represented the interlocking, though widely divergent, circles of social life, intellectualism, and gastronomy—heavily sugared —that were Vienna.
A Jour card was—and indeed still is—a visiting card with the Jour day inscribed by hand in the lower right-hand corner. The legend “Second Saturday” meant that the Lady would be at home, surrounded by her family, food, and footmen, to all the fortunate recipients of her Jour card, on the second Saturday of every month from November to April, from five until eight o'clock—and that after eight, she would be at home to her intimates and their gossip. It would be perfectly proper, the recipients knew, to attend one, two, or all the Jours, but to attend none of them would be an unforgivable insult, a cut. Although the perennial Jour-goer started the rounds in November, really important personages graced with their august presences only the December and January Jours. Hostesses saved their prize delicacies for these climactic Jours and considered no effort too great to make them successful.
The correct response to a Jour invitation was a Jour invitation. A Jourfor a Jourwas an honored Viennese maxim. Single gentlemen and Ausländer, unable to return the hospitality in kind, replied with flowers and/or a call—this of such brief duration that they kept on their gloves. The proud possessor of a Jour, on the other hand, could use it to discharge all social obligations Wherever the Lady with a Jour went, to a Déjeuner. Après Souper, Diner, or Lunch Debout, she had only to say to any new and interesting people she met, “I'll see you at my Jour, of course.” Even if the season were well advanced, she could then send a Jour card and establish the formal relationship.
Jour bookkeeping was very simple. A large silver salver waited in the anteroom for the visiting cards of the departing guests. The numbers of cards grew to imposing heights and were as carefully hoarded as are the Christmas cards on our American mantels today. At the end of the season, the daughter of the house counted the cards and checked them against the original guest list. If she found no visiting card to correspond with a name on the list, her parents emphatically crossed the name from next year's lis: and from their hearts.
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.
Cheese Palmiers
Sift 4 ½ cups flour with 2 teaspoons salt. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter and work in 1 cup ice water and ¼ cup rum or kirsch. Work the dough for at least 15 minutes, until it is smooth and pliable, and chill it well.
Work together 2 cups butter and ½ cup flour in a floured cloth, shape it into a square tile, and chill it.
Roll the dough out ½ inch thick on a lightly floured board and lay the butter tile in the center. Fold the four sides of the dough over the butter, wrap the dough package in a moistened cloth, and chill it for 20 minutes.
Roll the dough into a rectangle ½ inch thick and fold it the short way in thirds. Wrap and chill it again for 20 minutes, Roll it out in the opposite direction and fold it in thirds. Roll it out once more (always in the opposite direction) and fold it. Chill the dough. Roll it out again, brush the left-hand and center sections with a neutral-tasting salad oil and sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese. Fold in the right-hand section, then the left over it. Chill the dough, roll it out, oil it, sprinkle it with cheese, fold it, and chill a last time.
Roll the oiled dough into a rectangle 6 by 12 inches. Sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and roll up both long sides to the center. Slice the rolled dough ½ inch thick, lay the slices 2 inches apart on an unbuttered baking sheet, sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese and salt, and bake them in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for 7 minutes. Turn the palmiers with a spatula and bake 7 minutes longer. Makes about 45.
Scbinkentascben (Ham Pockets)
Sift 2 cups sifted flour with ¼ teaspoon salt onto a pastry board. Make a well in the center of the flour and in it put I cup butter, ½ pound cream cheese, and 1 egg yolk. Work the center ingredients into the flour to make a smooth dough. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
Sauté 2 medium onions, finely chopped, in 1 tablespoon butter. Remove the pan from the heat and add ½ pound ham, chopped, 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, 2 teaspoons prepared mustard, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix this filling well.
Roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board, cut it into 2-inch squares, and on each square place a teaspoon of filling. Pinch the corners of the squares together over the filling and press the edges of the dough to seal them. Bake the ham pockets on an unbuttered baking sheet in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 6 dozen.
Potato Dougb
Combine and work into a dough 1 cup sifted Hour, ½ cup butter, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ cup cold boiled riced potatoes, tightly packed. Roll out the dough, fold it in thirds, and chill it for ½ hour. Roll it out again, sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, and fold it in thirds in the opposite direction. Chill the dough for ½ hour, roll it our, sprinkle it with cheese, and fold it in thirds once more in the opposite direction. Chill the potato dough and use it to make any of the following specialties.
Schweinsohren (Pigs' Ears)
Roll the potato dough out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut it into rectangles 4 inches wide and 10 inches long, brush them with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water, and roll the long sides to the middle, Dust this double roll with grated Parmesan cheese and cut it into ¼-inch slices. Lay the slices on an unbuttered baking sheet, sprinkle litem with salt and grated Parmesan cheese, and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 7 minutes. With a spatula turn the slices and bake them for 7 minutes more. Serve hot. Makes about 36.
Stangen (Potato Sticks)
Roll potato dough out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board and cut it into strips ½ inch wide and 8 to 10 inches long. Lay the sticks on an unbuttered baking sheet, sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese, and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 12.
Plätzcben (Potato Discs)
Roll potato dough out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board and cut it into rounds with a 1-inch scalloped cutter. Press a hazelnut into each round, sprinkle with salt, and bake the discs on an unbuttered baking sheet in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 24.
Haselnuss Salzgebäck (Hazelnut Salt Rounds)
Sift together 2 ½ cups flour and ½ teaspoon salt, cut in ¾ cup butter, and work in 1 egg yolk and enough ice water—about 2 tablespoons—to make a smooth dough. Chill the dough for at least ½ hour. Roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board, cut small rounds with a fluted cutter, and paint the rounds with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water. Sprinkle the rounds lightly with sale and Cinnamon and thickly with 1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts. Bake the rounds in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen.
Salzscbiffcben (Salt Barquelles)
Line tiny barquette molds with the dough for Haselnuss Salzgebäck, eliminating the final dusting of salt, cinnamon, and nuts, and bake the shells in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. Combine and mix well 3 tablespoons cream cheese, 5 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped parsley, chives, and water cress, I teaspoon prepared mustard, ¼ cup minced ham, and salt and pepper to taste. Force this filling into the little baked shells through a pastry bag fitted with a small tube. This amount should fill about 4 dozen shells
Nut Roll
Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon double-action baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese and cut in ½ cup butter. Add ½ cup cream and work the ingredients into a smooth dough. Chill it for ½ hour.
Mix together 1 egg, 6 stuffed green olives, finely chopped, 4 anchovies, washed, dried, and finely chopped, 1 cup chopped almonds, and ½ teaspoon salt. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick and spread it with this filling. Roll it up and chill for 15 minutes. Brush the roll with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water and bake it in a slow oven (300° F.) for 30 minutes.Brush it again with egg and sprinkle it with grated Parmesan cheese and with blanched slivered almonds—about ½ cup of each. Bake the roll 15 minutes longer and slice and serve it hot.
Salzstangen(Salt Sticks)
Sift together 1 ½ cups flour, ¼ teaspoon double-action baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cut in ½ cup less 2 tablespoons butter, add 2 egg yolks and ¼ cup heavy cream, and work the ingredients quickly into a smooth dough. Chill it for at least 2 hours. Break off pieces of dough the size of walnuts and roll these out on a lightly floured board into pencil-thin sticks about 14 inches long. Paint them with an egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water and sprinkle them with freshly ground salt and caraway, poppy, or celery seeds. Bake the sticks on an unbuttered baking sheet in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 minutes. The sticks should be pale in color though the ends will brown. They will loosen from the baking sheet when they are done. Makes about 30.