The "Queen" cookery books: Entrees

Pigeons sur Croutes. — Truss half as many pigeons as you have guests, for roasting, and tie a slitted slice of fat bacon over the breast of each ; toast as many slices of bread as you have pigeons, butter them generously, and spread them pretty thickly with a mixture of parboiled and minced poultry livers, mushrooms, and washed and boned anchovies, with, if liked, a suspicion of finely-minced shallot or chives. Place these toasts at the bottom of a double roasting tin, with the pigeons on the grid over them, so that as they cook the basting from the pigeons will fall upon them. They will take from twelve to fifteen minutes to cook, according to size. As soon as they are ready slice each pigeon in half as quickly as possible, divide each toast in half, lay a half pigeon, cut side down, on each, and dish on a hot dish with a garnish of seasoned watercress. The frizzled bacon on the breasts may be removed or not as preferred. Yon will need two or three mushrooms, two anchovies, and one or more livers for each pigeon. Ballotines de Volatile. — This is a very pretty way of using the legs of a fowl, turkey, &c., when the breast has been used for supreme, &c. Prepare a farce by mincing and pounding together ½lb. of lean white meat (chicken, rabbit, or veal) and 4oz. of good bacon or fresh pork, then rub this all through a wire sieve into a basin, and add to it 1oz. of ham or tongue, two or three cooked chicken livers, two or three cooked mushrooms, and a truffle if at hand, all being fairly finely minced. Mix this with the yolks of two raw eggs, a dust each of coralline pepper and salt, and set aside till wanted. (This is enough farce for two, or perhaps three legs of fowl.) Bone the legs, retaining, however, the skin ; season the inside with a little salt and coralline pepper, and fill them up with the farce given above, sewing each leg up with a needle and thread to keep in the farce and to preserve the shape of the ballotines. Now wrap each up in a sheet of buttered paper, screwing or tying up the ends pretty tightly. Line a stewpan with 1½oz. of butter or marrow fat, a piece of fat bacon rind, one onion, sliced, and stuck with a clove, a sliced carrot, a blade of celery, and a bunch of herbs, with three or four peppercorns, and lay the ballotines on the top of this ; cover down the pan, and fry its contents lightly for twelve or fifteen minutes, then add about a gill of good stock, and braise the whole gently, either in the oven or at the side of the stove for about three-quarters of an hour, keeping the legs well basted. Now lift them out from the pan, remove the papers, brush them over with thin glaze, and set them in the oven for eight or ten minutes to crisp ; have ready a nice potato border and twice as many croutons of fried bread spread with ham, truffle, or any other savoury butter to taste, as you have ballotines ; then divide each ballotine into half lengthways, and dish on the potato border alternately with the croutons, filling up the centre with broiled mushrooms, stewed cucumber, potato straws, or any garnish you please. If preferred, you may roll up the little ballotines like miniature galantines, in a cylindrical shape, and serve them hot with espagnole or any other nice sauce to taste on a purée of spinach, mushrooms, &c., as you please.