Tricks of my Trade

English Chicken Pie à la Ritz

Clean and singe a 3- to 3 ½-pound chicken and cut the breast and wing sections into 4 pieces and the leg and second joints into 4 pieces, removing the bones from the legs and second joints. Clean and slice 8 to 12 mushtooms. Crush the yolks of hard-cooked eggs, force them through a fine sieve into a bowl, and stir in gradually 1 cup chicken stock. Add I onion, finely chopped, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and ¼ cup white wine or 1 te-spoon vinegar. Add the Chicken and toss until the pieces are well coated.

In each of four individual casseroles place 1 piece each of white and dark meat. Divide the mushrooms evenly among the casseroles and lay 2 pieces of broiled bacon on top and add 1 cup chicken broth to each casserole. Roll out either puff paste or pie pastry about ¼ inch thick and cut into rounds to fit the tops of the casseroles. Cover the casseroles, lilting on the pastry securely. Brush the tops with an egg beaten with a little milk and prick them to allow the steam to escape. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 to 400° F.) for I hour, or until the crust is brown and the chicken is cooked. Serves four.

Coq en Pâte (Chicken in Crust)

Clean and singe a 4- to 4 ½-pound young capon or roasting chicken. Carefully pull the skin back over the breast without tearing it and remove the breast bone. Then put the skin back in place.

Cut ½ to ¾ pound of goose liver into large pieces, roll in Hour, and saute for a few minutes in hot butter or goose fat. Or use sliced pâté de foie gras but do not sauté it. Put the goose liver in a bowl with 4 or 5 large pieces of truffle. sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cognac, and blend with 1cup moussline of chicken (see October, 1951). Stuff the capon with (his forcemeat, sew the opening neatly, and truss the bird to hold wings and legs close to the body. Rub the twit-side with a little salt. Melt 2 to 3 te-spoons butter or goose fat in a pan large enough to hold the capon or chicken. and cook the bird either in the oven or on top of the stove until well browned.

Make a mirepoix as follows: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and add 1 carrot, 1 onion, and I stalk of celery, all finely chopped, a pinch of thyme, half a bay leaf, finely crushed. and a little salt and pepper and cook slowly until the vegetes arc soft but not brown.

Make a pie dough from 4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup lard or other shortening, ½ cup butter, and about 6 tablespoons water. Roll out a generous third of the pastry into an oval about ¼ inch thick and about 2 inches larger than the bird. Lay the bird On this and spread the mirepoix over the breast and legs. Arrange a few thin slices of raw ham on lop and cover with thin slices of fresh larding pork. Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the bird. Moisten the edge of the lower pastry, press top and bottom together, and pinch or flute attractively. Cut a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape. Brush with an egg beaten with a little milk. Bake in a hot oven (425° F.) until the crust starts to color, then reduce the heat to moderate (375° F.). and bake for 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours, or until the bird is tender.

To serve, cut a slice from the top of the pastry to permit carving and give each guest a piece of pastry, a piece of chicken, a piece of ham, and some of the stuffing. Serve sauce péigourdine (see below) separately.

For an alternate method to make this dish place the browned Capon, the mire poix, ham slices, and larding pork in an oval casserole just large enough to hold the bird. Add a little gravy, cover with a lit) that has a small hole in it for the steam to escape, and seal the edge with a stiff paste made of Hour and water. Bake 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours.

Sauce Périgourdine

Reduce 2 cups brown sauce (see January, 1951) to 1 cup. Add 1/3 cup Madeira. Bring the sauce to the boiling point but do not let it boil. Add 2 truffles, thickly sliced, a little truffle liquor, and 1 tablespoon butter. Rotate the pan until the butter melts and mixes with the sauce.

Caneton Rouennaise en Chemise (Enrobed Duckling Rouennaise)

Clean a 6-pound duckling. Carefully pull back the skin over the breast without tearing it and remove the breast bone. Put the skin back in place. Make 2 to 2 ½ cups roueunaise tuffing as follows: Melt ¼ cup salt pork fat, add 2 cups duck or chicken livers, a little thyme. 1 crushed bay leaf, and a little salt and pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add a generous ¼ cup cognac, mix well, and rub through a fine sieve. Stuff the bird, sew up the opening carefully, and truss it to hold legs and wings close to the body.

Wrap the duck completely in a nap kin wrung out of cold water and tie the ends securely with string. Lay the duck on a rack in ehc bottom of a kettle pout over it 2 to 3 quarts brown stock. and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the kettle and poach the duck for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the duck from the kettle to a rack to drain. Take nit the napkin and put the duck on a serving platter. Arrange sections of orange around the duck and serve separately sauce rouennaise (see November, 1951) finished with a little brandy.