Foie Gras Froid
[1735—ASPIC DE FOIE GRAS]
[Clothe] an even or ornamented mould (fitted with a central tube) with aspic, and decorate it with poached white of egg and truffle. Fill it with rows of well-trimmed foie-gras rectangles, or shells raised by means of a spoon dipped in hot water, separating each row with a coat of aspic.
Except for its principal ingredient, which may vary, the preparation of aspic is always the same as that described under “Aspic de Homard” (No. [954]).
For the turning out and dishing, proceed in exactly the same way.
[1736—FOIE GRAS GASTRONOME]
Take a plain foie-gras Parfait, i.e., one without a crust; trim it neatly to the shape of an egg, and completely cover it with a chaud-froid sauce with paprika. Decorate it according to fancy, and glaze it with cold melted jelly.
Cut out a crust, proportionate in size to the egg, and shape [552] ]it like a cushion. Coat it with a chaud-froid sauce of a different colour; deck it with softened butter, applied by means of a piping-bag fitted with a narrow, grooved pipe; set it on the dish, and place the foie-gras egg upon it.
Surround the cushion with fine fair-sized truffles, glazed with aspic jelly.
[1737—FOIE GRAS AU PAPRIKA]
Trim a fine, fresh foie gras; salt it; sprinkle it with a coffeespoonful of paprika; put it into a saucepan with a large sliced Spanish onion and a bay-leaf, and cook in the oven for thirty minutes.
This done, set it instantly in an oval terrine, after having carefully removed every bit of onion; cover it with its own grease; fill up the terrine with jelly, and leave to cool.
Keep in the cool until ready for serving.
N.B.—In Vienna, where this dish is usually served as a hors-d’œuvre, with baked potatoes, the onion is not removed. The foie gras is left to cool in the terrine in which it has cooked, with all its grease, and it is served thus, very cold.
This piece of information was kindly given to me by Madame Katinka.
[1738—ESCALOPES DE FOIE GRAS MARÉCHALE[!-- TN: acute invisible --]
From a [terrine] of very firm foie gras cut the required number of collops, giving them an oval shape. Make a preparation of “pain de foie gras” (No. [1741]) with the remains of the [terrine], and cover the collops with the preparation, shaping the latter in a dome upon them. Coat these garnished collops with cream chaud-froid sauce; decorate with a slice of truffle, and glaze with aspic.
With some foie-gras purée prepare some balls (of the shape of bigaroons); in the centre of each place a little ball of truffle in imitation of the stone of the fruit, and coat them with a reddish-brown, chaud-froid sauce. This done, glaze them with jelly.
Dish the collops round a circular cushion, set upon a very cold dish; arrange the bigaroons in a pyramid on the cushion, and border the dish with fine, jelly [croûtons].
[1739—MOUSSE DE FOIE GRAS]
For the preparation of the [mousse], see No. [814]. The procedure and the quantities are always the same, and only the principal ingredient changes. The moulding is also effected in the same way in a jelly-[clothed] and decorated mould, [553] ]generally just large enough to hold the requisite amount for one service, or in a silver timbale, incrusted in ice.
[1740—MOUSSELINES DE FOIE GRAS]
I have oftentimes explained that the substance is the same from which [mousses] and [mousselines] are prepared, and I have pointed out wherein the difference between them lies.
Just like the other [mousselines], those of foie gras are made in egg- or quenelle-moulds, or others of the same kind. Foie-gras [mousselines] are, according to circumstances, either simply glazed with aspic, or coated with chaud-froid sauce and dished in a timbale with jelly. They may also be moulded in little paper cases.
[1741—PAIN DE FOIE GRAS]
From a cold foie gras, braised in Madeira, cut a few collops and put them aside. Clear the cooking-liquor of all grease, reduce to half, and add the yolks of four eggs and one-half lb. of butter, proceeding as for a Hollandaise sauce. Complete with a grilled, crushed, hazel-nut, two leaves of dissolved gelatine, and, when the preparation is only lukewarm, mix therewith (without working the whole overmuch) what remains of the foie gras, rubbed through a sieve.
Spread this preparation in layers in an aspic-[clothed] and decorated mould, separating each layer with other alternate layers consisting of the reserved collops and some slices of truffle.
Cover the last layer with aspic, and set the mould in a refrigerator for a few hours.
When about to serve, turn out, and border the dish with fine, aspic jelly [croûtons].
[1742—PARFAIT DE FOIE GRAS]
Fresh foies gras do not bear transport very well, and, when sent from a distance, often reach their destination tainted. It is, therefore, difficult, whatever care may have been bestowed on their preparation, to obtain the results which are achieved by manufacturers who are renowned for this kind of produce. Consequently, it is preferable to buy the Parfait of foie gras ready-made from a good firm rather than to try to make it oneself.
[1743—PAVÉ DE FOIE GRAS LUCULLUS]
Let a coat of aspic, one-half inch thick, set on the bottom of a square timbale, and lay thereon a few slices of truffle. Upon this jelly spread a layer, two-thirds inch thick, of foie-gras purée, thinned by means of a little melted jelly. When this purée has set, lay on it a few foie-gras collops and slices of [554] ]truffle; cover with aspic, and continue thus with alternate layers of purée, collops, and aspic. Fill up the mould with a layer of aspic jelly; put it in the refrigerator for a few hours, and dish on a block of ice, cut to the shape of a flagstone.
[1744—TIMBALE DE FOIE GRAS TZARINE]
Line a timbale-mould with ordinary patty paste, and cover the inside all over with slices of larding bacon. Just in the middle set a fresh foie gras, seasoned with salt, pepper, and allspice; surround it with quails stuffed with a piece of truffle, and set upright with their breasts against the slices of bacon. Fill up the mould with whole, raw, and peeled truffles; cover the whole with a round slice of the same bacon; cover the timbale with a layer of paste, well sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top for the escape of steam, and bake in a good, moderate oven for one and one-quarter hours.
On withdrawing the timbale from the oven, pour into it some succulent veal stock, flavoured with Madeira, and sufficiently gelatinous to form a nice jelly.
Keep the timbale in the cool for one or two days before serving it.