If you cannot conveniently obtain sassafras-powder, stir the gumbo frequently with a stick of sassafras root.
This is a genuine southern receipt. Filet gumbo may be made of any sort of poultry, or of veal, lamb, venison, or kid.
TOMATO CHICKEN.—
Take four small chickens or two large ones, and cut them up as for carving. Put them into a stew-pan, with one or two large slices of cold boiled ham cut into little bits; eight or ten large tomatos; an onion sliced; a bunch of pot-herbs,(cut up;) a small green pepper, (the seeds and veins first extracted;) half a dozen blades of mace; a table-spoonful of lard or of fresh butter, rolled in flour; or a handful of grated bread-crumbs. Add a tumbler or half a pint of water. Cover the sauce-pan closely with a cloth beneath the lid; set it on hot coals, or over a moderate fire; and let it stew slowly till the chickens are thoroughly done, and the tomatos entirely dissolved. Turn it out into a deep dish.
Rabbits may be stewed in this manner. Also, veal steaks, cut thin and small.
TURKEY AND CHICKEN PATTIES.—
Take the white part of some cold turkey or chicken, and mince it very fine. Mince also some cold boiled ham or smoked tongue, and then mix the turkey and ham together. Add the yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, grated or minced; a very little cayenne; and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Moisten the whole with cream or fresh butter. Have ready some puff-paste shells, that have been baked empty in patty-pans. Place them on a large dish, and fill them with the mixture.
Cold fillet of veal minced, and mixed with chopped ham, and grated yolk of egg, and seasoned as above will make very good patties.