Roast two large fowls in vegetables, and when cold take out the fillets, and with a thin knife divide each fillet in halves, to form two out of one, then pound two ounces of foie gras de Strasbourg (a small tureen of which can be purchased at any respectable Italian warehouse in London) in a mortar, and rub it through a hair sieve, put a spoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan with half a pat of butter, stir them a few minutes over the fire, then add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), reduce till rather thick, add the foie gras, and when ready to boil take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, leave it to get cold, then spread it over the fillets the eighth of an inch in thickness, have three eggs in a basin well-beaten, take each fillet on a fork, dip them into the eggs, throw them in a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, pat them gently with a knife and repeat the operation, have four pounds of hot lard in a stewpan, in which fry them a light brown colour, dress in crown on a small border of mashed potatoes, and serve with fried water-cresses in the centre quite dry, with a little gravy separate.
No. 815. Filets de Volaille à la Duchesse.
Fillet three fowls, with the filets mignons making nine fillets, lard four of the fillets neatly and braise them as you would a sweetbread, then sauté the remainder of the fillets as usual; dress them alternately on a border of mashed potatoes, two larded, and the other plain, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with six spoonfuls of white stock, a small bunch of parsley, and the trimmings of some fresh mushrooms, boil till it becomes thick, keeping it stirred, add half a pint of cream and pass it through a tammie into another stewpan in which you have placed a dozen of dressed cockscombs (No. 128), boil it up, then sauce over the plain fillets, put the cockscombs in the centre, glaze the larded fillets lightly and serve. If too thick, add a little stock to the sauce.
No. 816. Epigramme de Filets de Volaille à la Josephine.
Prepare and cook the fillets of three fowls as above, cut also four pieces from a cooked tongue the size and shape of your fillets, warm them in stock, make a small border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the larded fillets first, then the plain, then the tongue to form a crown, sauce with a thin purée of green peas (No. 86) in the centre, glaze the tongue and larded fillets, and serve.
No. 817. Filets de Volaille aux concombres.
Fillet three fowls as usual, place them in a sauté-pan with butter, season and put by until ready; have two fine cucumbers cut in pieces three inches in length, split each piece in halves, take out the seeds and peel so as not to leave a mark of green upon it, trim each piece as near the size and shape of the fillets as possible, blanch them three minutes in boiling water with salt, drain them on a sieve, put them in a sauté-pan with a little sugar and some good white stock, set them on the fire till the cucumber is tender and the stock has reduced to demi-glace, then sauté your fillets, and dress upon a small border of mashed potatoes alternately with a piece of the cucumber, add the remainder of the cucumber and the demi-glace to a demi-purée of cucumbers (No. 105) (but keep it quite white), with which sauce over and serve. The cucumbers must be the best for this purpose and fresh, or you will not be able to succeed.
No. 818. Fricassée de Poulet à la Chevalière.
Fillet two fowls but leave the pinions of the wings attached to them, lard and braise as directed for filets de poulardes à la Marie Stuart (No. 793), cut off the legs nicely, and take out the thigh-bone, leaving the leg-bone, but cutting it off above the knuckle; cut each back also into two pieces and trim neatly, put the legs and pieces of back into a stewpan, just cover them with one pint of water and two of stock, add a little pepper, salt, and a small bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, with an onion in slices, and two cloves, set them over the fire, let simmer twenty minutes, and skim well; then take out the pieces and put them on a cloth to dry, trim neatly and place them into another stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter, pass them five minutes over the fire, then add one tablespoonful of flour, mix well; you have previously passed the stock you boiled the fowl in through a cloth, pour it over the fricassée, which keep stirred till boiling, then stand it at the corner to simmer, skim well, it requires to be rather thin, let simmer nearly an hour, then take out the pieces very carefully and place them in another stewpan, put a spoonful of chopped mushrooms in the sauce, reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie over the pieces of fowl, place it again on the fire, add twelve cockscombs, twelve mushrooms, and twelve slices of truffles, let simmer a minute, finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with three tablespoonfuls of milk, take it off the fire immediately, put a little mashed potatoes in the bottom of your dish, take out the four pieces of back, place two in the centre of the dish and two others over to form a square, stand the four legs upright around, drain the four fillets on a cloth, (let them be a nice colour,) and dress them over; place the garniture from the sauce on the top to form a pyramid, sauce over the legs and round, glaze the fillets lightly and serve.