ENTRÉES.
it is daintier in the former case, but if nicely pre-
pared, cold meat can be used up in this way most
successfully. The great thing with all these cold
dishes is great neatness and simplicity in the serving.
All appearance of handling must be most scrupu-
lously avoided. A certain amount of garnish is, of
course, almost de rigueur, but care must be taken
not to overdo it. A safe rule for cold savoury
entrées is to restrict the colourings religiously to
such as may be naturally obtained. I do not say
that they may not be judiciously helped out on
occasions with a few drops of artificial colouring,
but in this case impress on your cordon bleu,
Hamlet's advice to players, “with this special
observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of
nature . . . but hold, as 'twere, the mirror up
to nature!” A large scale of colour may be obtained
by the judicious use of coralline pepper, shrimps or
prawns, tomatoes, radishes, &c., for reds; greens of
all shades, from the soft grey-green of the olive or.
the pale sea green of the cucumber, to the almost
black green of caviar; the black of the truffle; the
yellow and white of the hardboiled egg, &c.; all
these may justifiably be utilised, whilst dark or pale
golden aspic chopped, or in cubes, adds brightness
to any dish with which it may be in harmony.
The recipes given in the next chapter will serve to
show how these various addenda may be utilised,
and an intelligent cook will very soon learn to vary
her entrées almost indefinitely.
Lastly come the mayonnaises. As a general
principle the foundation of these is the mayonnaise