As a matter of fact the strong taste of vinegar, flavoured or plain, which is such a marked characteristic of aspic jelly, is absolutely destructive •of the delicacy of any sauce of which acidity is not a feature, overpowering as it does the natural savour of the foundation condiment. A sauce made by the modern "good cook's" formula of dissolving from one to two parts of aspic jelly in one part of sauce may produce a nice smooth masking-sauce, which, to the average diner-out, is possibly palatable enough; but to the gourmet it leaves a good deal to be desired, and if served as a chaufroix (without the •qualifying en aspic) is distinctly a mistake. Aspic jelly may be added with impunity to any sauce which contains vinegar or acids of any kind, such as mayonnaise, mint, raifort, or even tomato sauce, but it utterly destroys the delicate flavour of supreme or bechamel sauce, and entirely changes the character of such full-bodied sauces as the Espagnole, or the Richelieu. Aspic chopped, or in blocks, may be used as a garnish to any cold dish a discretion, on con-dition that it is a garnish only, i.e., so served that its consumption is not unavoidable by those to whom its acidity is repugnant.

As a proof of the truth of this assertion try the following, the first, the supreme en chaufroix of the first-rate chef; the second, the ordinary poulet en aspic, otherwise supreme, of the average "professed cook." Tor the first, remove the fillets from the breasts of one or more fowls according to quantity, slice these down neatly, into fairly thick fillets, and place them on a well buttered baking tin seasoning them with white pepper, a very little salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice, cover with a buttered paper, and cook in the oven for eight or ten minutes. When cooked lay the fillets on a dish, reverse another over them, and lightly weight this to press the chicken fillets till perfectly cold. Meanwhile prepare a delicate white sauce by dissolving an ounce or more of butter, blending it to a perfectly smooth paste with about an ounce of fine sifted flour, and then moistening this with rich white stock, either entirely made from chicken bones, etc., or of these and veal stock in the proportion of one-third veal to two-thirds chicken stock, delicately flavoured with lemon juice, mushrooms, and parsley; when well blended and smooth dissolve in this ½oz. of the very best leaf gelatine (I always use Mrs. A. B. Marshall's gelatine, as for these delicate preparations the most easily soluble and most tasteless kind is indispensable) for each pint of sauce; let it all boil together till reduced about one-fourth, then add a gill of double cream for each pint of sauce, and use just as it is setting.

Put the pan containing this sauce in another half full of warm (not boiling) water to keep it just at setting point, lift each fillet separately on a broad-bladed or palette knife, and pour over it (or "mask " it, as it is technically called) the stiffening sauce from a spoon, being careful to cover it all thickly and smoothly, and then leave it till set. The masking must then be repeated, only this time use meat jelly prepared as below instead of the sauce, to ensure the surface being nicely glazed. When set, dish the fillets neatly in a circle alternately with sliced tongue, foie gras truffe, or plain truffles as you choose, filling up the centre with turned and farced olives, tiny cubes of foie gras, salad, etc., to taste, either with a plain or a mayonnaise salad dressing, and serve. If you prepare a supreme in this way and mount it on a border mould of cold chicken cream set in a mould lined with the chicken jelly and fill up the centre with oysters bearded, and tossed in white mayonnaise and crisped celery serving it as Supreme a l'Americaine, you will score a distinct success.

I do not recommend this as an economy, for, as I have observed before, a supreme can never, from its nature, be anything but an expensive dish (though properly managed as I have also previously shown, it need not be extravagant), but it is most certainly, if carefully made, a very seductive one. For the meat jelly put into a delicately clean pan 1 oz. of leaf gelatine, a pint of well flavoured stock (white or brown, according to the use you intend putting it to), a sliced onion, a bay leaf, a bunch of herbs, a few peppercorns and allspice mixed, and the white and shell of an egg, and bring these all very gently to the boil, whisking them well together till the boil is just reached, then run it all through a warmed jelly bag. It should be crystal clear, but if not, strain it through the bag again. Now for the second version of this dish: Prepare the conventional white sauce of commerce, stiffen it with vigorously acidulated aspic jelly in the proportion of two parts aspic to one of white sauce, and with this mask thickly some slices cut from a cold fowl, either roast, boiled, or stewed, as may be convenient, and when this first coating is set, glaze with the plain aspic, and serve, in all probability with slices of tinned tongue and canned peas, or a tinned macedoine.

Now, I do not for one moment assert that if carefully prepared this roughly described dish may not result in a distinctly appetising little entree on an emergency, and if the masking sauce is well flavoured, the aspic not unduly acid, and especially if the dish be modestly styled chicken in aspic, and tinned garnish be eschewed, it will meet with much approval, but a supreme en chaufroix, or en aspic, however nicely prepared, it simply is not, and never will be!

For an entree en aspic, the meat used may, or may not, have been cooked for the purpose. Of course, it is daintier in the former case, but if nicely prepared, cold meat can be used up in this way most successfully. The great thing with all these cold dishes is great neatness and simplicity in the serving. All appearance of handling must be most scrupulously avoided A certain amount of garnish is, of course, almost de rigueur, but care must be taken not to overdo it. A safe rule for cold savoury entrees is to restrict the colourings religiously to such as may be naturally obtained. I do not say that they may not be judiciously helped out on occasions with a few drops of artificial colouring, but in this case impress on your cordon bleu, Hamlet's advice to players, "with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature but hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature!" A large scale of colour may be obtained by the judicious use of coralline pepper, shrimps or prawns, tomatoes, radishes, etc., for reds; greens of all shades, from the soft grey-green of the olive or the pale sea green of the cucumber, to the almost black green of caviar; the black of the truffle; the yellow and white of the hardboiled egg, etc.; all these may justifiably be utilised, whilst dark or pale golden aspic chopped, or in cubes, adds brightness to any dish with which it may be in harmony.