996. - To Braise Chickens

Bone the chickens, stuff them with forcemeat, place in the stewpan the bones and trimmings: lay the chickens upon them with a braise of sweet herbs, onions, mace whole, some thin slices of bacon, about three parts of a pint of stock, or, if that is not handy, water, two glasses of sherry: the bacon should be added last. Cover close, and stew for two hours. Then take out the chickens, strain the braise, remove the fat, and boil the braise rapidly to a glaze, paint it over the chickens with a brush while the braise is being boiled; brown the chickens before the fire; it adds to their appearance. When glazed, fowls may be braised in the same manner.

999. - Compote Of Pigeons

Blanch four pigeons, then stuff them, place them in a stewpan, put in an onion, a slice of lemon, and a small handful of mushrooms; lay over them slices of fat bacon, add half a pint of good gravy, and stew gently until the pigeons are tender; take them out of the gravy and keep them hot, strain off the gravy, skim it clear, then thicken with half a spoonful of flour, and a lump of butter, the size of a small walnut; season with salt, pepper, and a little cayenne; a few forcemeat balls may be added at pleasure; pour half into the dish with the pigeons, and serve the remainder in a tureen.

1000. - Pigeons In Jelly

Make some jelly of calf's foot, or if you have the liquor in which a knuckle of veal has been boiled, it will answer the same purpose; place it in a stewpan with a bunch of sweet herbs, a blade of mace, white pepper, a slice of lean bacon, some lemon-peel and the pigeons, which, being trussed and their necks propped up to make them appear natural, season to your palate. Bake them; when they are done remove them from the liquor, but keep them covered close, that their color may be preserved. Remove the fat, boil the whites of a couple of eggs with the jelly to clear it, and strain it; this is usually done by dipping a cloth into boiling water, and straining it through it, as it prevents any thing like scum or dirt sweeping through the strainer. Put the jelly rough over and round the pigeons.

1001. - Pigeons Or Any Bird In Aspic Jelly

Get three pigeons, take out the bones, leaving on the neck and head; fill the birds with some forcemeat, making them the shape of the bird, cover them with fat bacon, put them on a dish, place them in the oven until done, take them out to get cold, have ready some very light colored aspic jelly; either chop your jelly round them on the dish or in a mould, if in a mould place the breast downwards, let the jelly be quite cold and beginning to set before you pour it in; but if you intend to ornament your mould, do it with green, red, and white devices, with what may then be in season; radishes, whites of hard eggs, cucumbers, French beans, truffles, and any other eatable and wholesome thing: never use any thing that is injurious to health; set it to get stiff, turn out with warm water.

1002. - Larks Or Small Birds

Be very particular in roasting; melt a little butter, add to it a yolk of egg, and with your paste-brush egg all over them, and then bread-crumb them; while roasting frequently baste them and flour them, and before you take them up flour and salt them; send them up with some brown bread-crumbs.