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Old Newspaper Articles from Capper’s Farmer April 1927: Perfect Spring Menu, J.C. Penney Ads, and Perfection Cookstoves

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An illustration from the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine of a woman chef baking up something delicious.
An illustration from the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine of a woman chef baking up something delicious.
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A full-page J.C. Penney advertisement that appeared in the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine.
A full-page J.C. Penney advertisement that appeared in the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine.
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An advertisement for Perfection Oil Cook Stoves and Ovens that ran in the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine.
An advertisement for Perfection Oil Cook Stoves and Ovens that ran in the April 1927 issue of Capper's Farmer magazine.

When the Best China and Linens Come Out

By Nell B. Nichols

Company for dinner! This announcement awakes within every normal woman the desire to prepare and serve a first-class meal. Selecting the menu is the first task. Finding the necessary recipes is next in order. Then plans of work, or the time for the preparation of the various articles are to be made. When this is done, the most difficult part of the feat is performed.
Suggestive spring menus are as follows: (The third has a yellow and green color scheme, appropriate for Easter.)

Grapefruit or Fruit Cocktail
Chicken en Casserole
Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Paprika Lima Beans
Bread, Butter, and Jelly
Cabbage Salad
Lemon Cream Pie
Coffee and Milk

Veal Olives
Mashed Potatoes
Asparagus With Mousselaine Sauce
Rosy Apple Salad
Rolls, Butter, and Jam
Creamy Chill
Cake
Coffee and Milk

Orange and Banana Cocktail
Crown Roast of Lamb
Browned Potatoes
Buttered Carrots With Peas
Tiny Rolls, Butter, and Citrus Marmalade
Bird’s Egg Salad
Rhubarb Pie or Puffs
Coffee and Milk

Some of the recipes listed in the menus are as follows:

Grapefruit Cocktail

A new way to serve grapefruit as the first course is this. Cut 3 grapefruits in half, and remove seeds and membrane. Sprinkle the pulp of each half with 1 piece of cream peppermint candy, frequently called after-dinner mints. Chill. Serve on glass plates or in sherbet glasses. A garnish of a fresh mint leaf is effective.

Veal Olives

Use slices of veal 1⁄4-inch thick, cut in 2-by-4-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay a strip of bacon on each piece, having the bacon extend lengthwise beyond the veal. Roll and fasten with toothpicks. Brown the outer surface in bacon fat. Put in a dish, and almost cover with hot water. Cover and bake slowly until tender, 11⁄2 hours as a rule. Before serving, melt 2 tablespoons bacon drippings. Add 2 tablespoons flour, and stir until smooth. Add liquid from pan with enough water to make 1 cup, and stir until the sauce boils. Season to taste. Add veal olives. Cook until the meat is heated thoroughly.

Paprika Beans

Cook 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons chopped onion together until yellow, using care that they do not burn or become brown. Add 1 teaspoon flour and 1 teaspoon paprika. When mixed thoroughly, add 1⁄2 cup of the liquid in which the lima beans were cooked. Simmer 10 minutes. Add 2 cups cooked lima beans. Either dried or canned beans may be used. Simmer 5 minutes. Keep hot by placing over hot water. Taste just before serving to see if more seasoning is needed.

Asparagus With Mousselaine Sauce

If fresh asparagus is available, boil just long enough that the vegetable will be tender. Do not cut the stalks in small pieces, but have them 4 or 5 inches long. About 15 minutes is long enough to cook asparagus. Serve on buttered toast with the sauce. The sauce is made by melting 3 tablespoons butter, and adding 3 tablespoons flour. Stir until the mixture is well-blended, then pour on gradually 1 cup of liquid in which the asparagus cooked, or, if available, 1 cup chicken broth, and 1⁄2 cup cream. Bring to the boiling point, and add 1⁄4 teaspoon salt and a few grains of pepper. Just before serving, add 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten, and 1⁄2 tablespoon lemon juice.

Bird’s Egg Salad

Mash cottage cheese. Mix with chopped nuts, and moisten with cream. Season with salt. Shape like bird eggs, using 1 teaspoon mixture for every egg. Dry parsley in warming oven, and rub between fingers until very fine. Sprinkle the eggs with parsley, and arrange in nests of lettuce. Pass the salad dressing.

Rhubarb Puff

Use 1 cup chopped rhubarb, 2 tablespoons butter 13⁄4 cups pastry flour, 1 cup sugar, 1⁄4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 eggs, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs and milk alternately with the flour, sifted before measuring, then mixed with the baking powder. Stir in rhubarb. Half fill a buttered pudding mold. Steam 1 hour. Serve hot or cold, with sugar and cream. Most persons like it hot.

Creamy Chill

Whip 1 cup heavy cream. Add 1 cup finely cut marshmallows, 1⁄2 cup nut meats, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Chill. Serve cold in sherbet glasses, accompanied by cake.

Rosy Apple Salad

Use 6 red apples, 4 cups cold water, 2 cups sugar, 2 sticks cinnamon, 1 tablespoon red fruit coloring, 1 small package cream cheese, 1 head lettuce, and salad dressing. Peel and core apples. Place sugar, water, cinnamon, and coloring in a kettle. When sugar is dissolved, put apples in the kettle. Cook until tender, but use care not to overcook or to cook too rapidly, as the shape might be spoiled. Turn the apples occasionally so all portions will be evenly colored. Chill. Serve each apple on a bed of lettuce, filling the fruit cavities with cream cheese. Top with mayonnaise. If desired, the cheese may be mixed with chopped nut meats and salad dressing. When fruit coloring is not available, Red Hots candy may be used instead of the coloring and the cinnamon sticks.