1361. Hind-quarter of Spring Lamb.
—Procure a medium-sized, fine, white hind-quarter of lamb; pare it neatly, trim the small handle-bone, and fold the flank over the ribs, to prevent them being overdone; that means that the leg and ribs will be equally cooked the same length of time. Tie it well together, then season with one and a half pinches of salt divided evenly, and envelop it well in its caul or leaf-fat; lay it in a roasting-pan, pouring in one tablespoonful of broth or water, then place it in a moderate oven, and let roast for one hour, basting it occasionally with its own dripping. Take it from the oven, remove the caul, untie, and dress it on a hot dish, adjusting a neat paper ruffle to the handle-bone. Skim the fat from off the gravy, strain the latter over the lamb and serve.
1362. Chicken, Sauté à la Ch. C. Delmonico.
—Select from a good poultry-dealer two fine, tender Philadelphia spring-chickens weighing two pounds each. Singe them over a little alcohol poured onto a plate, draw the entrails, wash well the interiors, then wipe them dry with a clean cloth. Cut each chicken into six pieces, place them in a sautoire with two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil, season with a good pinch of salt and one pinch of pepper, then set the sautoire on a very brisk fire, and let cook until the pieces assume a good, light brown color (ten minutes will suffice), stirring them lightly in the meanwhile. Chop up very fine one sound shallot; cut one green pepper into small, dice-shaped pieces, also the end part only of a medium-sized, peeled carrot; place all these with the chickens, and let cook together for one minute and a half, then add one glassful of good white wine, and let the liquid reduce to one-half, which will take ten minutes on a brisk fire, stirring it occasionally. Now add one gill of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), a tablespoonful of tomato sauce ([No. 205]), the juice of a good-sized, very sound lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of fresh butter; let all cook for ten minutes longer, stirring it lightly with a spoon. Plunge three canned artichoke-bottoms into very hot water, lift them up immediately with a skimmer, wipe them thoroughly dry with a napkin, then cut each one into four quarters; slice three medium-sized truffles very fine, and add all these to the chickens two minutes before serving. Dress the chickens and sauce on a very hot serving-dish, adjust paper ruffles to the ends of the four legs; garnish the dish artistically with the artichokes star-shaped. Place a slice of truffle on the centre of each artichoke, and a very small, round slice of Spanish sweet pepper on top of each truffle, and send to the table very hot.
1363. Chicken, Sauté à la Ranhofer.
—Select two fine, tender chickens weighing two pounds each; singe them well, draw the entrails, wash thoroughly, and wipe very dry; then cut each chicken into six pieces, and season them with a good pinch of salt and a light pinch of pepper. Place the pieces of chicken in a sautoire with three quarters of an ounce of good butter and half a tablespoonful of sweet oil, and set it on a very hot stove. Chop up one shallot very fine, and one sound, green pepper cut in small, dice-shaped pieces; when the chickens are of a light brown color, add the shallot and pepper, and stir well for one minute; then add a wine-glassful of good white wine, and let reduce to one quarter, which will take six minutes. Pour in one gill of tomato sauce ([No. 205]) and one and a half gills of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), and let cook rather slowly for ten minutes longer, stirring it occasionally. Dress the chickens and sauce on a very hot serving-dish, adjust paper ruffles on the ends of the four legs, and decorate the dish with the following garnishing: take six canned artichoke-bottoms, spread a tablespoonful of Duxelle ([No. 215]) in the centre of each one; empty the interiors of six fine, sound, medium-sized green peppers, cooked in the oven for five minutes, stuff them with Duxelle garnishing ([No. 189]), and arrange them on top of the artichokes, their thin part uppermost, so as to give them a pyramidal shape; then lay them on a buttered tin plate or dish, and set them in a slow oven to bake for five minutes; remove them, but while they are baking cut out six round pieces of fresh bread, half an inch thick by two and a half inches in diameter; place them on a hot stove in a frying-pan with half a tablespoonful of butter, and let get a light brown color for two minutes. Arrange the six artichokes and peppers on top of the pieces of bread, garnish the dish nicely, and send to the table at once.
1364. Filets Mignons à la Lorillard.
—After preparing six timbales as described below, and when removed from the oven, have ready six fine filets mignons as for [No. 509], and serve with the following garnishing and sauce: take six small timbale-molds, measuring one and three quarter inches in diameter and two inches deep; butter well the insides, and set them in the ice-box to get thoroughly cold. Have one medium-sized, cooked carrot, also one cooked turnip; cut them both with a tube a quarter of an inch in diameter by one inch long; have also half a medium-sized, fine, white cabbage, and trim the outer leaves neatly. Put into a stewpan one ounce of salt pork cut into small dice-shaped pieces; add the cabbage, and season with half a pinch of pepper; set the pan on a rather slow fire, cover it tightly, and let cook slowly for thirty minutes, without removing the lid; during this time decorate the six cold timbales by laying a slice of truffle, half an inch in diameter, at the bottom of each, and just in the centre, and with the aid of a larding-needle arrange a row of cooked green peas around this, then decorate half the interior of each timbale with half the prepared carrots and turnips, using the utmost care, and keeping them inclining slightly toward the right, and the other half inclining toward the left. Fill up the timbales with the cooked cabbage, using a spoon to press it in gently, so that they are filled entirely as far as the top. Put them on a roasting-pan, filling it with hot water to half the height of the timbales, then place them in a hot oven, and heat from three and a half to four minutes. Take them from the oven, and leave the pan on the corner of the stove to keep warm. Cut an oval-shaped slice from an American loaf of bread, one inch in thickness, pare the edges neatly, then butter it lightly, and place it in the oven on a tin plate to get a light brown color; two minutes will be sufficient for this; lay it on a very hot dish, and dress the six filets mignons on top of the bread croustade, each one lengthwise and slightly overlapping one another, and so on until all are used. Pour over the mignons half a pint of hot Colbert sauce ([No. 190]), to which add whatever parings or pieces of truffle remain, one minute before using; then with a towel remove the timbales from the pan, one after the other, turn them upside down, unmold, and with these decorate the dish, placing one at each end and two on each side, then send to the table immediately.
It would be advisable to prepare and cook the fillets after the timbales are removed from the oven.