Cookery for every household

The pigeons used must be young and tender. Singe and draw them, then cut them in halves and wash and dry the pieces. Then bone them, cutting off the wings, but leaving on the legs and drawing them through the skin to give the pieces the form of a cutlet. Melt the butter in a saute or frying pan, put in the joints of pigeon and cook them slowly for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Then lift them out, season with pepper and salt, lay them between two dishes with a weight on the top and set them aside to cool. Shortly before they are required, trim them neatly, and egg and breadcrumb them. Fry them in boiling fat to a golden brown colour. Have ready prepared some macaroni a la Milanaise and pile it in the centre of a hot dish. Stand the pigeon cutlets against it and pour the tomato sauce round. Note. — These cutlets may be varied by changing the sauce and changing the garnish. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. 1179. Cutlets of Pigeon a la Villeroi (Cotelettes de Pigeon a la Villeroi) 3 pigeons. 2 oz. butter. Seasoning. Villeroi sauce. Egg and bread-crumbs. Green peas. Brown sauce. Prepare the pigeon cutlets as in last recipe, cooking them a short time in butter and pressing [illustration: Cutlets of Pigeon a la Villeroi] them until nearly cold. Then trim them neatly and coat them on one side with Villeroi sauce (Recipe 746). Use the sauce in a setting condition, not too hot. Stand the cutlets in a cool place until the sauce is cold and firm, then egg and bread-crumb them and fry in boiling fat. Dish them on croutons of fried bread, pour brown sauce round, and garnish with green peas. Note. — The garnish and the sauce may be varied according to taste. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. 1180. Roast Turkey (Dinde Roti) 1 turkey. Chestnut stuffing. Gravy. Bread sauce. Rolls of bacon or sausages. Choose the turkey carefully, a young hen bird is generally considered the best for roasting. There are many different ways of serving roast turkey, but perhaps it is never better than when simply roasted, or with a few prepared chestnuts put inside and served with a good sauce and a nice fresh salad. Many, however, prefer something more elaborate, and would not consider the dish au rigueur unless one if not two kinds of stuffing were used in its preparation. The following is one of the most popular ways of serving the bird. Singe and draw the bird in the same way as a fowl, and wash it quickly in cold water. Reserve the giblets and use them for making stock or giblet soup. Now make some chestnut stuffing (Recipe 1265), and put it into the crop of the bird. If a large quantity of stuffing is liked, some may be put into the body as well. Or, sometimes veal stuffing is put in the crop, and chestnut stuffing in the body. Sew the stuffing in and truss the turkey for roasting (see p. 276). Cover it well with greased paper and roast in a good oven until sufficiently cooked. It must be kept well basted, bacon fat being used if possible, and the paper should be removed a short time before serving, to allow the breast to become nicely browned. The time for cooking will depend on the age and size of the bird; as a general rule 15 minutes to the lb. should be allowed and 15 minutes over. A medium-sized bird will require about 2 hours. When the turkey is ready, lift it on to a large hot dish and remove from it all trussing threads and strings.