Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/780

694 Method.—Divide the chickens into pieces of convenient size, skin and trim them neatly. Dissolve the gelatine, previously soaked, in a little cold water, add it to the warm Béchamel sauce, stir until cool, then pour it carefully over the pieces of chicken. Decorate with fancifully-cut pieces of truffle and chili, and when the sauce is quite set, coat with cold liquid aspic jelly, pouring it carefully over each piece with a tablespoon. Arrange in a pyramidal form on a bed of dressed salad, and garnish with slices of cucumber, tufts of endive and cubes of aspic; or the aspic jelly may be coarsely chopped.

Time.—1 hour. Average Cost, 8s. to 9s. Sufficient for 9 or 10 persons.

Ingredients.—1 duck, 1 pint of stock, ¾ of a pint of Espagnole sauce (see Sauces No. 244), 1 glass of port wine, 1 dessertspoonful of red currant jelly, 1 Spanish onion, 1 lb. of chestnuts, larding bacon, 2 ozs. of butter, the yolks of 2 eggs. For the mirepoix, or foundation: 2 onions, 2 carrots, 1 small turnip, 2 strips of celery, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), 6 allspice, 2 cloves, salt and pepper.

Method.—Boil the chestnuts and remove the skins, cook the Spanish onion in stock or water until tender, chop both finely, season with salt and pepper, add the yolks of eggs, and use these for stuffing the duck. Truss the duck and lard it neatlyneatly. [sic] Put the butter and sliced vegetables into a large stewpan, place the duck on the top of them, cover and fry gently for 20 minutes. Next add as much of the stock as will cover the vegetables, and the remainder as that in the stewpan boils away. Cover the duck with a buttered paper, put on the lid, and cook gently for about 2 hours, or until the duck is perfectly tender. Heat the Espagnole sauce, add to it the wine and jelly, and season to taste. Remove the trussing strings, and put the duck in a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp the bacon. Serve with a small quantity of the sauce poured over, and the remainder in a sauce-boat.

Time.—About 2 hours. Average Cost, 5s. to 5s. 6d. Sufficient, for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from August to March.