Section II: Evening Tea — The Samovar, Tea Table and Light Supper
Complete English translation of the 1901 evening tea service, with all 38 original paragraphs and numbered references.
Sometimes acquaintances gather for friendly conversation that does not continue far past midnight; on such an occasion, late evening tea poured by the lady of the house may take the place of supper. Serve this tea as follows. Set out a long dining table covered with a clean tablecloth; at one end place a smaller table with the samovar. In the center of the long table put a tall vase of fruit: apples, pears, oranges, mandarins and grapes. On either side of this vase, across the table, set stacks of dessert plates and beside them silver or bone-handled dessert knives.
On both sides of the vase, along the table, place oblong bread and rusk baskets covered with napkins and containing tea pastries: white, saffron, bread or almond buns and babas, English biscuits and small cakes, bought or homemade; see recipes Nos. 3001–3203.
Beside them put crystal dishes of sliced lemon, and small decanters of rum, red wine, cherry syrup and sherbet, together with cream and sugar. Then place on both sides fairly tall, though smaller, crystal vases of preserves, which guests may add to tea or eat separately. For the latter purpose arrange small crystal saucers and teaspoons across the table on either side of these vases.
Instead of one vase of preserves, put two vases side by side, one filled with preserves and the other with sliced oranges. The pairs of vases should be arranged symmetrically on either side of the table.
Prepare the oranges as follows: with a knife make four cuts through the peel, remove the peel carefully and immediately set it aside to make candied orange peel as described in recipe No. 2416.
Cut the peeled oranges crosswise into slices with a sharp knife, as one cuts lemons but somewhat thicker. Arrange them in a vase, sprinkling each layer with very finely sifted sugar. They may even be prepared in the morning, allowing the oranges time to absorb the sugar.
Along the table, beside the vases of preserves and oranges, put butter in crystal butter dishes. Beside these place crystal dishes or other butter dishes containing the different kinds of flavored butter described below.
Next to the butter, along the table, place round bread trays covered with napkins. With a sharp knife, cut the bread into thin slices and arrange them in concentric circles, with the long side of each slice facing inward and the edge of one slice overlapping the next. Make the outermost ring of black bread; a smaller second ring of French rolls; a still smaller third ring of finely sifted rye bread, sweet-and-sour bread, Swedish bread or steamed bread; then a fourth, smaller ring of rolls. In the middle stand a circle of slices of fine white wheat bread upright.
Around the bread tray, in a crescent, arrange small dishes of very thin slices of veal, ham, beef, hazel grouse, turkey or chicken, tongue, hare, Swiss, Russian or homemade cheese, grated green cheese and the like, all in symmetrical order. For instance, put the lighter-colored cheese in the very center, ham on one side and tongue on the other, followed by veal on one side and turkey or hazel grouse on the other. Alternatively, make the first dish beef, the second cheese, the third ham, the fourth veal, and so forth.
The tongue should be fresh. If it has been salted, boil it in water, drain at once, add fresh boiling water and bring it to a boil again once or twice. It is possible to drain it a second time and add fresh boiling water before finally cooking it until tender, but it should not lose all its salt. The drained boiling liquid can be used for borscht or shchi, especially the liquid from the last two changes.
Marinated beef is best, prepared as described under recipe No. [Editorial note: the recipe number is already missing from the printed 1901 edition.]
Butter served with tea is prepared in a number of ways:
1) Plain butter; see No. 3616.
2) Parmesan butter; see No. 3630.
3) Lemon butter. Churn butter from one bottle of thick cream, wash it thoroughly and mix into it the zest of one lemon.
4) Butter with almonds, walnuts or pistachios; No. 3639.
5) Butter mixed with grated boiled or roasted beef; No. 3638.
6) Butter with grated green cheese; No. 3637.
7) Butter with grated corned beef; No. 3635.
8) Hazel-grouse butter; No. 3633.
9) Butter with grated fried liver; No. 3634.
Game cheese; No. 3663.
Cheeses made from curd and sour cream, Nos. 3648–3663.
Russian Chester cheese.
Dutch cheese and others.
Lemon cider for those who like to take tea while biting sugar; No. 3342.
Orange cider; No. 3343.
Lemon sherbet; No. 3344.
Almond sherbet; No. 3346.
Raspberry sherbet; No. 3345.
Sherbet made from almond shells; No. 3347.
Syrups for tea, Nos. 3321–3341.
Liqueur for punch; No. 3486.
Punch 'for ladies-in-waiting'; No. 3489.
Ladies' punch; No. 3488.
Mulled wine; Nos. 3493 and 3494.
Dark and white cognac, from 1 ruble 15 kopecks to 6 rubles.
Dark and white rum, from 1 ruble 15 kopecks to 3 rubles 50 kopecks.
English introduction to the 1901 dinner registers →