60. CHICKENS SURPRISE.
Take half a pound of rice, set it over a fire in soft water, when it is half-boiled put in two or three small chickens truss'd, with two or three blades of mace, and a little salt; take a piece of bacon about three inches square, and boil it in water whilst almost enough, then take it out, pare off the outsides, and put it into the chickens and rice to boil a little together; (you must not let the broth be over thick with rice) then take up your chickens, lay them on a dish, pour over them the rice, cut your bacon in thin slices to lay round your chickens, and upon the breast of each a slice.
This is proper for a side-dish.
61. To boil CHICKENS.
Take four or five small chickens, as you would have your dish in bigness; if they be small ones you may scald them, it will make them whiter; draw them, and take out the breast-bone before you scald them; when you have dress'd them, put them into milk and water, and wash them, truss them, and cut off the heads and necks; if you dress them the night before you use them, dip a cloth in milk and wrap them in it, which will make them white; you must boil them in milk and water, with a little salt; half an hour or less will boil them.
To make Sauce for the CHICKENS.
Take the necks, gizzards and livers, boil them in water, when they are enough strain off the gravy, and put to it a spoonful of oyster-pickle; take the livers, break them small, mix a little gravy, and rub them through a hair-sieve with the back of a spoon, then put to it a spoonful of cream, a little lemon and lemon-peel grated; thicken it up with butter and flour. Let your sauce be no thicker than cream, which pour upon your chickens. Garnish your dish with sippets, mushrooms, and slices of lemon.
They are proper for a side-dish or a top-dish either at noon or night.
62. How to boil a TURKEY.
When your turkey is dress'd and drawn, truss her, cut off her feet, take down the breast-bone with a knife, and sew up the skin again; stuff the breast with a white stuffing.
How to make the Stuffing. Take the sweet-bread of veal, boil it, shred it fine, with a little beef-suet, a handful of bread-crumbs, a little lemon-peel, part of the liver, a spoonful or two of cream, with nutmeg, pepper, salt, and two eggs, mix all together, and stuff your turkey with part of the stuffing, (the rest you may either boil or fry to lay round it) dridge it with a little flour, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it with milk and water: If it be a young turkey an hour will boil it.
How to make Sauce for the Turkey. Take a little small white gravy, a pint of oysters, two or three spoonfuls of cream, a little juice of lemon, and salt to your taste, thicken it up with flour and butter, then pour it over your turkey, and serve it up; lay round your turkey fry'd oysters, and the forc'd-meat. Garnish your dish with oysters, mushrooms, and slices of lemon.
63. How to make another Sauce for a Turkey.
Take a little strong white gravy, with some of the whitest sellery you can get, cut it about an inch long, boil it whilst it be tender, and put it into the gravy, with two anchovies, a little lemon-peel shred, two or three spoonfuls of cream, a little shred mace, and a spoonful of white wine; thicken it up with flour and butter; if you dislike the sellery you may put in the liver as you did for chickens.
64. How to roast a TURKEY.
Take a turkey, dress and truss it, then take down the breast-bone. To make Stuffing for the Breast. Take beef-suet, the liver shred fine, and bread-crumbs, a little lemon-peel, nutmeg, pepper and salt to your taste, a little shred parsley, a spoonful or two of cream, and two eggs. Put her on a spit and roast her before a slow fire; you may lard your turkey with fat bacon; if the turkey be young, an hour and a quarter will roast it. For the sauce, take a little white gravy, an onion, a few bread-crumbs, and a little whole pepper, let them boil well together, put to them a little flour and a lump of butter, which pour upon the turkey; you may lay round your turkey forc'd-meat-balls.
Garnish your dish with slices of lemon.
65. To make a rich TURKEY PIE.
Take a young turkey and bone her, only leave in the thigh bones and short pinions; take a large fowl and bone it, a little shred mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt, and season the turkey and fowl in the inside; lay the fowl in the inside of the low part of the turkey, and stuff the breast with a little white stuffing, (the same white stuffing as you made for the boiled turkey,) take a deep dish, lay a paste over it, and leave no paste in the bottom; lay in the turkey, and lay round it a few forc'd-meat-balls, put in half a pound of butter, and a jill of water, then close up the pie, an hour and a half will bake it; when it comes from the oven take off the lid, put in a pint of stew'd oysters, and the yolks of six or eight eggs, lay them at an equal distance round the turkey; you must not stew your oysters in gravy but in water, and pour them upon your turkey's breast; lay round six or eight artichoke-bottoms fry'd, so serve it up without the lid; you must take the fat out of the pie before you put in the oysters.
66. To make a TURKEY A-la-Daube.
Take a large turkey and truss it; take down the breast-bone, and stuff it in the breast with some stuffing, as you did the roast turkey, lard it with bacon, then rub the skin of the turkey with the yolk of an egg, and strow over it a little nutmeg, pepper, salt, and a few bread-crumbs, then put it into a copper-dish and fend it to the oven; when you dish it up make for the turkey brown gravy-sauce; shred into your sauce a few oysters and mushrooms; lay round artichoke-bottoms fry'd, stew'd pallets, forc'd-meat-balls, and a little crisp bacon. Garnish your dish with pickled mushrooms, and slices of lemon.
This is a proper dish for a remove.