274. Lamb Sweetbreads en Petites Caisses.
—Blanch, pare, and clean six small lamb sweetbreads as for [No. 601]. Lay them aside to cool, then lard them with either fresh fat pork or truffles. Place them in a well-buttered sautoire, adding a gill of chicken broth or a gill of Madeira wine. Cover with a buttered paper, and let cook to a golden color in the oven for ten minutes. Then lay them on a dish. Put half a gill of cooked fine herbs ([No. 143]) and a gill of well-reduced Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]) into the sautoire, letting it cook for five minutes. Take six small boxes of buttered paper and pour a little of the gravy at the bottom of each; cover with sweetbreads, and place them on a baking-dish; keep them for five minutes in an open oven, then serve on a folded napkin.
275. Oysters en Petites Caisses.
—Open and blanch for five minutes twenty-four medium-sized oysters in a sautoire with half a glassful of white wine and half an ounce of butter. Season with half a pinch of pepper and a third of a pinch of nutmeg. Let cook for five minutes; then add one pint of well-reduced velouté sauce ([No. 152]), and let cook for another five minutes, adding half an ounce of crawfish butter ([No. 150]), and stirring it occasionally. Fill six buttered paper boxes with four oysters each, and the garnishing equally divided. Sprinkle over a little fresh bread-crumbs, and arrange them on a tin roasting-pan. Spread a very little butter over each patty, and put them in a moderate oven for five minutes. Have a hot dish ready, with a folded napkin nicely arranged on it; dress the patties over, and serve.
276. Chicken Croquettes with Truffles.
—Bone and cut up a medium-sized, cooked chicken into small, square pieces; put them in a sautoire with two truffles cut the same way, adding half a pint of strong velouté ([No. 152]), and let cook for ten minutes. Then incorporate therein half a glassful of Madeira wine, four egg yolks, a pinch of salt, half a pinch of pepper, and the third of a pinch of nutmeg. Stir briskly, then put it away to cool in a flat dish. Now divide the mixture into six even parts; lay them on a cold table, besprinkle with fresh bread-crumbs, and roll them into oblong shapes. Dip each one into a beaten egg, and roll again in fresh bread-crumbs. Fry to a nice color in hot fat for four minutes. Drain thoroughly, and serve on a hot dish with a folded napkin, decorating with a little green parsley.
All chicken croquettes are prepared the same way, only served with different garnishings and sauces, or by omitting the truffles and substituting six hashed mushrooms. Sweetbread croquettes are prepared the same, only substituting four blanched sweetbreads ([No. 601]) for the chicken.
277. Croquettes of Game.
—To be made exactly like the chicken croquettes ([No. 276]), adding six hashed mushrooms and half a gill of cold fumet de gibier ([No. 218]).