364. Poulard with Rice.—Having been braised as before, have a quarter of a pound of good rice washed, put in a stewpan, with a pint of broth, three spoonfuls of the capon’s fat from the stewpan, a bouquet of parsley, let it simmer until it is tender, take the parsley out, add two ounces of butter, a little salt, pepper, nutmeg, stir it round, or form it into a delicate pulpy paste, lay some of it on a dish with the capon on it, put the remainder round it, making it smooth with a knife, leaving the breast uncovered; salamander the rice, and serve clear gravy separate; sometimes I add a little curry powder in the gravy, and egg and bread-crumb the rice, and salamander or make the rice yellow with curry powder, and make a border of half eggs round the dish, it looks well, and that is a great thing; and one fowl done thus will often go as far as two plain. It is generally the custom with us to send either ham, tongue, or bacon, as an accompaniment to poultry. I endeavor to vary it as much as possible; the following is one of my receipts.
365. Poulards or Capons, with Quenelles and Tongue.—When you are either roasting or braising, you make about twenty quenelles with table spoons, out of forcemeat of veal. Proceed and cook the same; when done, make a roll of mashed potatoes, which put round the dish you intend to serve it in, have ready cut from a cold tongue as many pieces of the shape of the quenelles, warm gently in a little gravy, then put the quenelles on the border; having cut a piece off the end, so that they may stand properly, with a piece of tongue between each, put the fowl in the centre, have ready made a quart of a new white sauce, which pour over the fowl and quenelles, glaze the tongue, and serve very hot. I found this dish at first rather complicated, but now my cook can do it well without my assistance; it looks and eats well, but is only adapted for a dinner of importance.
366. The same with Cucumbers.—Cut about four nice fresh cucumbers into lengths of two inches, peel and divide them down the middle, take the seedy part out, trim the corners, put about thirty of them into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, a spoonful of eschalot, and the same of sugar; lay on a very slow fire for half an hour, or till tender; lay them on a border of mashed potatoes, with quenelles as above, and place the tongue between; in another stewpan you have put a little butter, and the trimmings of the cucumbers, then add a quart of white sauce, boil and pass through a tammy, adding a little sugar, or other seasoning if required, and finish with half a gill of good cream sauce over all except the tongue, which glaze. Cauliflower, sprue grass, Jerusalem artichokes, or Brussels sprouts, like the turkey, make excellent and inviting dishes.
367. Capon with young Carrots.—Scrape two bunches of young carrots, keep them in their original shape as much as possible, wash them and dry on a cloth, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, a little sugar, salt, and pepper, set it on the fire for ten minutes, moving them now and then, add a quart of white broth, simmer gently until very tender and it comes to a demi-glaze; dish the carrots on a border of potatoes, the points towards the centre, cook some small button onions the same way, but very white, and dress them alternately; mix the two gravies together with a quart of demi-glaze, set it on the fire, boil fast, skim it, when forming a bright thinnish sauce, pour it over the capon and vegetables; it being served with a brown sauce, it ought to be roasted brown like turkey (No. 355); turnips may also be added instead of carrots, or both.
368. Fowls, Italian way.—Prepare and cook the fowls as above, or re-warm some that may be left, cut the remains of a tongue into pieces one inch long and one quarter in thickness, cut three times the quantity of plain boiled macaroni the same way, with a few mushrooms, and add the whites of four eggs to it, with some broth and half a pint of white sauce; when boiling, add a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan and half that of Gruyère, shake the stewpan so that the contents are well mixed, add a little salt and cayenne, put fowl on dish, sauce over and serve; or put the macaroni on the dish, mix bread-crumbs and a little grated cheese together and sprinkle over it, put it into the oven until it is a yellow-brown color, put the fowl on it very hot, and serve with a little white sauce over, and a strong gravy separate.