Roasted Chestnuts

Split the skin on one side of some chestnuts, put in a pan with a perforated bottom, stand over a moderate fire, and when they are done wrap them in a cloth for a few minutes. Serve them with salt and butter.

Oranges For Dessert

Peel the oranges and trim off the white part, being very careful not to break the fruit. Put some powdered sugar in a dish, about one-half pound for two dozen oranges, and pour over it sufficient cochineal to give it a bright pink color; place it in front of a fire until well dried. Roll the oranges in the sugar, giving them a good coating all over, then arrange them carefully in a raised glass or dessert dish and serve. Oranges colored in this way are a great improvement over the ordinary way of serving them.

Oranges And Bananas For Dessert

Peel four bananas (the red kind if possible), cut them across into rather thin slices and arrange them in a glass dish; strain the juice from two oranges, pour it over the bananas, sprinkle them plentifully with powdered sugar and serve immediately. Or peel the oranges, slice them and arrange the slices in the dish among the slices of bananas. Cream, either whipped or plain, may be served with this dish, also sugar.

Peaches For Dessert

Wipe the peaches carefully and lightly over with a clean cloth; put a circle of them on a dish, then over these a narrower circle, and so on, finishing off with one at the top and using peach leaves and moss to garnish and build them with. Put a circle of the moss and leaves round the base of the peaches. Vine or artificial peach leaves may be used if the genuine ones cannot be obtained.

Pineapple For Dessert

Prepare a thick cushion of paper, called tampion, in a fancy dish, cover it well with dyed moss and real or artificial vine leaves, stick the stalk of the pine in the middle of the paper and garnish around with any other fruit desired.

Walnuts Prepared For Dessert

Crack the upper half of the shells of the required quantity of walnuts, and remove them carefully without damaging the kernel. Dip the exposed half of the nut into boiling water to facilitate peeling off the skin. Place each nut, as soon as peeled, in slightly acid water, which should also be cold and salted. When ready to serve, drain the nuts on a cloth. For dishing the nuts a pasteboard stand should be made with raised graduated tiers, and covered with green paper. Arrange the walnuts on this, using some moss to keep the nuts in position.

Watermelon With Brandy

Cut out and remove a piece of the center of a watermelon; and pour in the side one pint of brandy; replace the piece of melon in its former position and put the melon on the ice-box for six hours. Set it on a dish and send to the table either whole or cut in slices.

Watermelon With Champagne

Proceed as with brandy, using champagne instead of brandy.

Watermelon With Rum

Prepare the same as watermelon with, brandy, using rum instead of brandy, and proceed as before.