—Have two fine chickens of about two pounds each; singe, draw, wash, and wipe well; cut off the breasts of each chicken, then cut the breasts into very thin, square pieces. Season them with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and lay on a dish until further action. Have in a saucepan on the hot range one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour; thoroughly mix for five minutes, without browning; gradually add a cupful of hot milk, continually stirring while adding it; season with half a teaspoonful of salt, the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper and a very little grated nutmeg; let slowly cook for twelve minutes. Heat up in a sautoire one tablespoonful of clarified butter, then add the pieces of chicken; cook slowly for five minutes, tossing them well, and taking special care not to let them get brown; moisten with a tablespoonful of Madeira wine, let reduce for thirty seconds, then strain the other through a fine sieve into the chicken, mix well together, let slowly simmer on the corner of the range for five minutes. Place on a board or a marble table a quarter of a pound of sifted flour, make a hollow space in the centre; have in it three ounces of good butter; gradually pour in a gill of cold water, mixing well together meanwhile, until it is thoroughly incorporated; sprinkle a little flour over and let rest for five minutes. Have six tartlet molds, lightly butter them, roll out the paste to an eighth of an inch thick, then with a pastry cutter cut out six pieces, two inches in diameter larger than the tartlet molds. Arrange one piece into each mold, gently press it around with the fingers, fill up each mold with cracker-dust, and then place them in a moderate oven for ten minutes. Remove them from the oven, empty them of the cracker-dust, remove from the molds, and then fill them with the prepared chicken, equally divided, and giving them a pyramid shape. Have six thin slices of truffle, place one slice on top of each right in the centre, dress on a hot silver dish a folded napkin and send to the table.
The remaining legs can be used for broiling, stewing, or for soup purposes.
GAME.
1482. Woodcocks en Croustades à la Harper Bros.
—Have six fine, fresh, fat woodcocks; pick well, remove the entrails, place the hearts and livers on a plate, then remove the skin from the neck and head of each, and with a keen knife pick out the eyes. Cut the heads and necks right close to the body, lay them on a plate. Cut out two very thin slices of truffle, then with a tube, the same size of the eyes, cut out twelve pieces; insert one piece in each eye of the heads, and lay them on a dish for further action. Now with a small, sharp knife make an incision right along the back. Begin boning from the neck right down toward the breast on both sides of each bird, carefully avoid making any holes in the skin, and when down to the second joint cut it, so as to easily remove the carcass of each, leaving the legs intact; cut away the claws of each bird. Season the inside with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, equally divided among the six birds, and then leave on a dish. Have in a sautoire on the fire one tablespoonful of butter, with half a finely chopped shallot; let cook for one minute without browning, then add four finely chopped mushrooms, one truffle, and hearts and livers all cut in the same way; let all cook together for three minutes, sharply stirring meanwhile; season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, add to it a tablespoonful of Madeira wine, cook for one minute; add a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley and two tablespoonfuls of fresh bread-crumbs; thoroughly mix together, then place it on the corner of the range. Lay the birds one alongside another with the skin side down; place a tablespoonful of the garnishing right in the centre of each bird. Arrange a head over the force of each bird, so that nothing but the head remains out. Fold up both sides of the bird so as to have them represent their natural forms. Have a lightly buttered sautoire, place each bird on its back in the sautoire, one alongside another, gently turning the birds upward, sprinkle over a very little clarified butter, then place in a very hot oven for five minutes. Prepare six croustades as for [No. 264]; equally divide the remainder of the force among the six croustades. Remove the birds from out the oven, neatly arrange a bird in each croustade. Dress them on a hot dish, leave at the oven door to keep warm. Add to the pan in which they were cooked half a wineglassful of Madeira wine; reduce it to one-half, then add half a gill of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]) and half a gill of tomato sauce ([No. 205]); let boil for two minutes; skim off the fat, strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, equally divide it over the six birds, and send to the table.
N. B.—The croustades should always be prepared before the woodcocks are cooked.
1483. Saddle of Venison à la Joel B. Erhardt.
—Prepare a saddle of venison exactly the same as in [No. 878], but substituting the following garnishing for the two other sauces. Soak eighteen fine, sound, large, Italian raw marrons in fresh water for a night. Have on the fire a pan with plenty of hot water, and as soon as it comes to a boil, immediately plunge in the chestnuts, cover the pan, and let boil for one minute only. Remove the pan from off the fire, drain the chestnuts, then with a pointed knife gently peel them. Place in a saucepan on the hot range one quart of water with four ounces of sugar; let come to a boil, then add half a vanilla bean, as also the chestnuts, and slowly boil for twenty minutes. Remove them from the range, place the marrons in a bowl with half of their own liquor, then allow to cool off. Place the balance of the liquor on the fire, add to it two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, and continually stir until the jelly is thoroughly dissolved; then thicken with half a gill of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), and let slowly cook on the corner of the range. Prepare a pâté-à-chou, exactly the same as in [No. 1240]. Slide a tube down in the pastry bag ([No. 1079]) one inch in diameter, and put the paste in the bag. Have a lightly buttered pan ready, then carefully press the paste down into it, making twelve equal button-shape forms one inch and a half in diameter. Place them in a moderate oven to bake for eight minutes. Remove from out the oven, let slightly cool off. Cut a piece off from the top of each, one inch in diameter, then fill the inside of each with chutney. Place on top of each a marron. Dress the saddle on a hot serving-dish, decorate the dish all around with the twelve choux. Strain the sauce into a sauce-bowl, and serve separate. The remaining pâté-à-chou can be used for any other purpose desired, as also the six marrons.