These game dishes were popular at the London Ritz, but even more popular there were the curries. In those days, before 1910, many very distinguished Englishmen held positions of importance out in India and other countries Of Britain's Eastern Empire. When they came home on furlough or returned to England, they were curry enthusiasts. And they demanded the real thing and would accept no provincial adaptations. We had a Hindu chef who was hired to come in one day each week to make and serve chicken curry and a second day for lamb curry. No one but the special curry chef was allowed to touch the curries.
This curried chicken is a particularly good choice as the pièce de résistance because it is prepared without removing the meat from the bones:
Chicken Sauté with Curried Cream Sauce
Clean and singe a 3- to 3 ½-pound spring chicken and cut it up as for fricassee, that is, into 2 legs, 2 second joints, 2 wings, 2 breasts, and the back. Season with salt and a little pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and arrange the chicken in it. Add 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion. Cover the pan and cook slowly over a low heat or at the side of the range for 10 minutes until the onions are soft. Add 2 ounces of brandy and 1 tablespoon curry powder and mix well. Add 2 cups heavy cream, bring to a boil, and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Test it by inserting a sharp-tined fork in the second joint. When the fork is withdrawn, the juice which follows is clear with no pink tinge if the bird is cooked. Remove the pieces of chicken to the chafing dish.
Reduce the liquid in the pan to a smooth sauce about as thick as a medium cream sauce. If necessary, thicken by adding 1 tablespoon butter creamed with ½ teaspoon Hour, swirling it into the pan in a circular motion. Correct the seasoning and pass the sauce through a fine sieve over the chicken in the chafing dish. Keep the water in the lower pan very hot but not boiling. Serve with fluffy rice.
If you wish to use leftover cooked thicken or turkey with a curry sauce, instead of making an authentic curry by cooking the bird with the curry, here is a good method;
Chicken or Turkey à I'lndienne
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion, and cook until the onion is soft but not brown. Add 1 small bay leaf, a little thyme, and 1 tablespoon curry powder. Mix well. Add ¼ cup white stock and bring to a boil. Add 1 ½ cups velouté or cream sauce and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Add ½ cup sweet cream and bring again to a boil. Correct the seasoning with salt. Arrange 1 ½ to 2 cups sliced cooked chicken or turkey in the top pan of the chafing dish and pour the hot sauce over it. Have thee water very hot underneath the pan. Serve with rice.
Most of these dishes are prepared in the kitchen, and the chafing dish is used for serving comme il faut or, perhaps, for giving the finishing touch of cognac or butter or egg yolk. The convenience and charm of the chafing dish in the dining room are unsurpassed in serving many foods, One may, of course, actually cook at the table in the chafing dish, but these dishes have the initial cooking done in the kitchen. In the case of crêpes Suzette there is a special pan that is used on a réchaud, but the chafing dish can be used. Any dish that is flambéed, such as crêpes Suzette or bécasse au fumet or poularde flambée Souvaroff, should always be lighted in front of the guests. I might remind those who are contemplating the purchase of a chafing dish that they come in more than one size. So it might be well to consider whether the chafing dish is to be used for diners intimes or for large buffet supper parties.
Not everything can be served from the chafing dish. Not, for example, broiled meat like beef filet or lamb chops. As soon as broiled meat is covered, steam settles on it, and it becomes unappetizing and toughened. Nor should a sauce containing egg yolks he allowed to remain in the blazer pan with water boiling beneath. If it is necessary to hold a dish of this kind very long, the egg yolks should be added just before serving.
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