—Prepare six fine venison chops as in [No. 885]; season them with a heaped teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper only, and lay them aside until further action.
Tyrolienne Garnishing.—Have in a saucepan on the hot range one tablespoonful of good butter, adding five medium-sized, sound, peeled, and cored apples, cut into thin slices, and four tablespoonfuls of sugar; cover the pan, and let cook for twenty-five minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon at the bottom once in a while to prevent burning. Have on the range in another pan four tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, with two wineglassfuls of port wine; mix all well together until the jelly is thoroughly dissolved; then let slowly boil on the corner of the range for three minutes. Remove the apples from the range, press them through a fine sieve into a bowl. Now broil the chops for four minutes on each side. Place the apple-sauce right in the centre of a hot serving-dish, giving a pyramid shape, then dress the chops around it, one overlapping another. Pour the currant-jelly sauce around the chops, but not over them; adjust a paper ruffle on each chop and send to the table.
1485. Saddle of Venison à la Talleyrand.
—Procure and prepare a fine saddle of venison, exactly the same as in [No. 878]; suppress the currant-jelly sauce, and serve with the following garnishing:
Talleyrand Garnishing.—Cut three fine, sound apples into halves, peel each half, giving them all a nice dome shape; remove the cores, place them on a buttered pan, sprinkle a little clarified butter over, then place in the oven to bake for ten minutes; remove them, dredge a little pulverized sugar over, place them back in the oven to glaze for one minute; remove, and lay in a warm place. Have in a saucepan on the range two glassfuls of port wine with a tablespoonful of currant jelly; lightly stir until it is thoroughly dissolved; add one clove, the zest of half a sound lemon, and the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper; let boil for four minutes, add to it now a gill of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), let boil for three minutes longer; strain it through a sieve into a sauce-bowl; dress the saddle on a serving-dish, arrange the six pieces of apple around the saddle, and send to the table with the sauce separate.
1486. Reed-birds à la Joseph Pulitzer.
—Have twelve fine, fat, fresh reed-birds, remove the entrails, and the eyes from the head, neatly wipe them, stick the bill of each bird into the breast, cut off the legs, then place them in a roasting-pan; season with a tablespoonful of salt, sprinkle over a very little clarified butter, place them in a very hot oven to roast for two minutes only; remove from the oven and slightly cool off. Peel and boil five medium-sized sound potatoes in salted water; when cooked drain the water completely, leaving the potatoes in the same pan; thoroughly mash them with a potato-masher, add two ounces of good butter, half a teaspoonful of white pepper; pour in half a cupful of hot milk, and with a wooden spoon thoroughly mix together; add now the yolks of two eggs, sharply mixing again; place it on the hot range, thoroughly mix while heating for three minutes; then press it through a fine sieve into a flat pan and let cool for five minutes. Take the twelve reed-birds, completely mask each bird with the above preparation, roll them nicely, giving each bird a barrel shape, three inches long by one and a half in diameter; dip them in beaten egg, roll in fresh bread-crumbs, taking care not to spoil their shape; then fry them in very hot fat for five minutes; remove from the fat, thoroughly drain on a towel; dress them on a hot serving-dish with a folded napkin, and send to the table with a gill of hot Madeira sauce ([No. 185]) separate.
1487. Reed-birds à la Barsotti.
—Have twelve reed-birds, prepare them exactly the same as above. But instead of masking them with potato preparation, select twelve medium-sized, sound, even, raw potatoes; wash well and dry; cut off a cover, oval-shape, lengthwise, in the centre of each potato, then with a vegetable-scoop scoop out the interior of each sufficiently large for a reed-bird; season the inside of each potato with a teaspoonful of salt equally divided; let stand for one minute, then turn them upside down to let the water run out which the salt has drawn. Put one reed-bird in each potato with its breast upward; cut two slices of bacon, then cut each slice into six equal, square pieces; place one piece over the breast of each bird, put the cover on top, lay them in a roasting-pan, place in a moderate oven to roast for twenty-five minutes; remove them from the oven, dress on a hot serving-dish with a folded napkin, and send to the table with half a gill of maître d’hôtel ([No. 145]) separate.