The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.

Well, I had a birthday recently. And for said birthday I had a dinner party of almost Herculean standards. Well for me anyway. It was a "How to host a Murder" Party set at a movie premiere in 1936.

So naturally I go way overboard with the cooking but it was all in good fun.


Here is my table all beautifully set. I polished the silver myself as it's so hard to get good staff these days. I even measured my table to ensure everyone had the required 24". It required 1 extra leaf in my table, just to seat 8. And an appropriate use flowers to follow the colour scheme. I think it's pretty if I do say so myself.

So to a brief overview of the menu then.

Hors d'œuvres
Oysters au Naturel
Cheese Zephires
Angels on Horseback
Devils on Horseback

Soup
Clear Julienne Soup

Entrées
Chicken Cannelons
Salmon Mousse
Rabbit Rillet

Main
Roast Beef
Roast Potatoes confit in Duck fat
Asparagus
Carrots
Peas
Gravy

Sweets
Raspberry Cream

Cake
Ingrid's Chocolate cake

And now on to some recipes:


OYSTERS AU NATUREL.

There are many ways of dressing oysters, either hot or cold, but only one way of serving them, "au naturel," which is considered the most popular hor's dœurve. Only the best kinds, natives - Whitstable or Colchester oysters, should be served "au naturel," i.e., raw. All the need, after being opened, is to be placed on the upper shell with a little of the liquor; they are then ranged on a dish, garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley, and if possible, surrounded with shaved ice.

Some thin slices of buttered brown bread, and quarters of lemon are handed round at the same time; also Nepaul or cayenne pepper.

I have to confess I didn't check to see if my oysters were Whitstable or Colchester but they were yummy none the less. I substitued those garlic toast biscuits instead of the buttered brown bread.