Catering for Special Occasions with Menus and Recipes or Symposium and Komos in Aristophanes

Catering for Special Occasions with Menus and Recipes

Author: Fannie Merritt Merritt Farmer

When this book was originally published in 1911, Fannie Farmer said: "Americans of today are accused, somewhat unjustly, it seems, of being inhospitable. Because we do not, in the manner of a generation or two ago, lay aside all our duties at the visit of friends and welcome them ungrudgingly to our ordinary meal we expose ourselves to this charge; but, in truth, it is a higher conception of hospitality that has brought about this change. We receive our guests more normally; we make preparations for their coming, and take pleasure in giving them a meal that shall vary from the humdrum order of culinary production. The fashion in entertaining, as in so many other things, has changed, and consciously or unconsciously we conform to the new standards. And why is not the new hospitality more satisfying, both to the host and guest, than the old? It seems to me that housekeepers are enjoying as never before the days set apart for their friends, and have learned to appreciate the saying of Brillat-Savarin, 'He who receives friends, without himself bestowing some pains upon the repast prepared for them, does not deserve to have friends.' And certainly there is none of us so regardless of the delights of the table that he does not respond to the warming influences of a meal prepared by a thoughtful hostess as a tribute to him as a guest."

"The difficulty for the housekeeper lies in the selection of an appropriate menu. This little book is intended to meet this difficulty. May it be a help to many!"

Table of Contents:

	New Year's Afternoon Teas	1
	St. Valentine's Spreads	27
	Washington's Birthday Spreads	51
	St. Patrick's Day Luncheons	69
	Easter Dinners	87
	Fourth of July Spreads	105
	Hallowe'en Spreads	127
	Thanksgiving Dinners	143
	Christmas Dinners	165
	Wedding Receptions	185
	Birthday Feasting	201
	Children's Parties	219

See also: American Medicinal Plants or Aerobic Walking The Weight Loss Exercise

Symposium and Komos in Aristophanes

Author: Babette Putz

Feasting, wine, revellers and dancing girls; the modern image of ancient Greek symposia is an enduring one. Many symposia were more formal affairs; drinking-parties after which a komos, or procession of revellers, often took place, with much protocol involved. Many accounts survive in ancient literature, as well as depictions on vase paintings. There has been a considerable amount of modern research on the symposium, especially on its archaeological evidence. However, the komos has not received as much attention, and the connection of either celebration with comedy has not been studied to any great extent. This book looks at the symposium and komos in Aristophanes and the comic fragments from two angles, considering the use of these forms of celebration to help shape a play's plot or to depict characters, and discussing the information found in comedy on some practical sympotic matters. The context of relevant scenes, the activities shown, their humour, and the social status of their characters are also explored. First published in 2003, this revised edition is fully updated taking into account important new research.

About the Author:
Babette Putz is a lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand