Hors D’œuvre

Hors d’œuvre are usually connected with restaurant luncheons, yet nothing is more pleasant than to have hors d’œuvre occasionally in one’s own house; or should the meal be a little short because friends arrive unexpectedly, hors d’œuvre come pleasantly to the rescue.

Indeed hors d’œuvre, when good, and limited both in number and quantity, are a very good prelude to a luncheon. But the thing to avoid is a show of indifferent hors d’œuvre: inferior sardines, odd bits of fish covered with a nondescript sauce, remnants of vegetable masquerading as salade russe, and mayonnaise upholstering a multitude of sins. In fact, the value of hors d’œuvre depends on their usefulness and their quality.