Prepare the pigeons as described in chapter 2, boning them and leaving just enough of the leg to form the bone of the cutlet; bat and trim this neatly into shape, then cover or "mask" each pretty thickly with a rather stiff d' Uxelles sauce, and when this has set a little, brush each cutlet over with egg and then fine breadcrumbs, and fry in plenty of hot fat till of a golden brown (about twelve to fifteen minutes) and serve with rich brown sauce, strongly flavoured with mushrooms, shallot, and tomatoes, with a dash of white wine and a spoonful of capers added at the last, and a garnish of broiled mushrooms. If the pigeons are boned and coated with a liver or foie gras farce, fried, and served with tomato sauce they are called a la moderne; in short, pigeons may be cooked and served with any variety of sauce and garnish, for example a la milanaise, spread with a liver forcemeat (not foie gras) fried, and served on a bed of well cooked macaroni mixed with white sauce strongly flavoured with grated cheese, strips of ham, and truffles, with the cheese sauce round; or on a bed of tomato sauce and macaroni, with a demiglace poured round; or d la chipolata, with a rich espagnole and a chipolata garnish; or a la flamande, with a good strong brown gravy (not thickened sauce) and a garnish of stewed cabbage, and carrots, turnips, tiny onions, etc., first cooked, then tossed in enough butter with a tiny pinch of sugar, to glaze them; or a la Montglas, when the rest of the flesh carefully picked from the carcases of the birds is made into a rich mince with stock (made with the bones of the pigeons and a little strong stock, flavoured like an espagnole sauce), into which you stir some sliced truffles; or if cut in half, without boning, the pigeons may be grilled and served on a bed of spinach with tartare, mayonnaise, Cazanova, or any other nice iced sauce, the cold sauce blending admirably with the fire-scorched broil.

Another way is to bone the birds, then by means of a bag and Forcing pipe to fill them back into shape with a farce (prepared like the border for supreme of chicken a l'ivoire) well flavoured with truffles and foie gras, fastened into shape with a buttered band of paper, as shown in Fig. 11; then set the birds thus prepared on a well buttered tin, and cook in the oven for fifteen to eighteen minutes, keeping them well basted all the time; then halve them with a warm we knife, brush them over with white of egg that has been broken up, but not whisked to a stiff froth, wrap each cutlet in a strip of pork caul, again brush over with white of egg, roll in minced truffle, and set them in a buttered baking tin covered with a buttered paper, and cook in the oven for ten minutes, after which they are dished on a potato border, and served with a quenelle mixture, or a financiere garnish, in the centre, and any rich sauce such as Pengueux, Champagne, etc, round it. It must be remembered that all birds, such as quails, partridges, larks, etc. (not to mention hares and rabbits), can be cooked by these recipes, by the use of a little intelligence and good will on the cook's part.

For instance, the green plover so often seen in poulterer's shops make a delicious dish if the fillets are used as above described; or, again, the foreign game sent over from the continent frozen, lends itself particularly well to these recipes, as its rather strong flavour is obviated by the sauces which would be almost wicked used in connection with our own fresh and delicately flavoured game. By the way, few people appear to know how well grouse and mushrooms go together. Fillet the birds (using the rest of the body for a broil or grill in connection with tartare sauce), and cook in a well buttered tin, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, a few drops of sherry and a very little stock, under a buttered paper, in the oven from eight to twelve minutes according to the thickness of the fillets (in Scotland where birds are plentiful a side of the breast should be allotted to each guest, but where economy has to be studied, slice down the fillets), and dish them alternately with delicately-fried croutons strewed with a d'Uxelles mixture, on a bed of mushroom puree prepared thus: Chop fairly fine a pound of well wiped mushrooms, and let them draw down (cook slowly) at the side of the stove with l½oz. of fresh butter for seven or eight minutes, then stir in two tablespoonfuls of freshly grated white bread crumbs, season with a little coralline pepper and salt, add a spoonful or so of good brown sauce, and use.

Filet De Chevreuil A La Dauphin

Lard some neatly trimmed fillets of roe deer and lay them in a stewpan lined with slices of fat bacon and smoked ham, together with three or four green onions, and a bouquet; moistening it with consomme*, and little by little, a pint of champagne; when the fillets are cooked, skim, strain, and slightly reduce this sauce, if necessary, and pour it round and over the fillets, garnishing these with fried croutons, spread with savoury butter to taste.