628. Salad of Game.—Boil eight eggs hard, shell them, throw them into cold water, cut a thin slice off the bottom to facilitate the proper placing of them in the dish, cut each one into four, lengthwise, make a very thin flat border of butter about one inch from the edge of the dish you are going to serve them on; fix the pieces of egg upright, close to each other, the yolk outside, or alternately the white and yolk; you lay in the centre a layer of fresh salad that may be in season, and having previously roasted a young grouse rather underdone, which you cut into eight or ten pieces, then prepare sauce as follows: put a spoonful of eschalots, finely chopped, in a basin, one ditto of pounded sugar, the yolk of one egg, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, tarragon, or chervil, and a quarter of an ounce of salt, mix in by degrees with a wooden spoon, four spoonfuls of oil and two of Chili vinegar; when all mixed, put it on ice, or in a cold place; when ready to serve up, whip a gill of cream rather thick, which lightly mix with it, then lay the inferior parts of the grouse on the salad, sauce over so as to cover each piece, then lay over the salad and the remainder of the grouse; sauce over, and serve. The eggs may be ornamented with a little dot of radishes on the point, or beet-root. Anchovy and gherkin, cut into small diamonds, may be placed between, or cut gherkins in slices, and lay a border of them round, or in any way your fancy may dictate.
629. Salad of Fowl.—Proceed as for that of game, so far as the eggs and the salad are concerned; then have a chicken, which has been previously plain roasted, or in vegetables, and cut it into ten pieces, put it into a basin, season with a teaspoonful of salt, quarter ditto of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar, one onion sliced, and a few sprigs of chopped parsley, mix them well, and let them remain for a few hours, if time will permit. Take the pieces of chicken, and place in a dish with salad, as directed for grouse, with the sauce, &c., and serve. Nothing is better for ball-suppers than these kinds of dishes; they may be made of all kinds of solid fish, and the sauce is excellent; any kind of cold meat, dressed round with the sauce, may be served for supper or luncheon. It may be served with the same sauce or dressing as for Lobster Salad (or No. 623), or make the following one, which differs a little:—Put into a middle-sized, round-bottomed basin the yolk of two eggs, half a spoonful of salt, quarter of one of pepper, half a one of sugar, ditto of fine chopped onions, ditto of parsley, or of tarragon, or of chervil, stir with the right hand with a wooden spoon, while you pour some oil out of the bottle by keeping your thumb on its mouth, so that it runs out very slowly; when a few spoonfuls are in it, it will become quite stiff; pour also by degrees a few spoonfuls of vinegar, and so on until you have made enough for your salad; try if the flavor is good and relishing, as the quality of these two last ingredients varies so much, that I must leave it to your more simple and correct judgment. If you should fail at first, try again until you succeed, and I am certain you will be delighted with the result; it ought to be made in a cold place, particularly in summer. Great taste should be observed in the decoration of the border.
[SHELL FISH.]
Prawns are best when very red and have no spawn under the tail.
The Escalop is a fish very little used, but is exceedingly fine; it is in season at the same time as the oyster. It can be cooked in a variety of ways, but previous to doing which, it should be kept some time in salt water, so that it may free itself from any sand that may be in it; when opened, all the beard should be removed, and only the white, red, and black parts used; it may be cooked and used in every way like oysters, and is excellent with matelote of any kind of fish.
Razor Shell Fish or Solen Fish.—This is the aulo of the Romans, and a beautiful eating fish. It should also be cooked like oysters, and makes most excellent and strengthening soup.
OYSTERS.—No oyster should be eaten under four years old; their age is known by their shell—just the same as the age of a tree is known by its bark, or a fish by its scale, and the small oyster has the finest flavor.