Saddle of Lamb or Venison
Place the meat on the platter so that the cross piece of the T-bone rests horizontally on the dish and the stem of the T points up vertically. Using the point of a firm knife, make a long cut from the top of the saddle down its entire length, loosening the meat from the bone. Then cut the entire length of the saddle in one stroke, using a long, flexible knife. Start at the top and slice horizontally from the outside toward, and at right angles to the bone, making 10 or 12 very thin slices. Turn the platter and repeat on the other side of the center bone. Serve two or three slices to each person. The saddle should never be sliced vertically like a rack of lamb.
Ham
Look at the ham carefully and select the place where the meat is thinnest between skin and bone. Then perch the ham on the platter thinside down, so that the side where the meat is thickest will be uppermost. (A ham is very slippery, and a three pronged base to keep it steady is a great help.) Trim off the surplus fat and any skin that hasn't already been removed: Save enough fat to spread over the exposed surface of the ham when you have finished carving so that the meat won't dry out before it is carved again.
Holding the shank bone in your left hand and using a long flexible knife, cut into the meat about 4 inches from the spot where the skin ends on the shank. Remove a 3-inch piece of meat, curving it out to within 1 inch of where the skin ends on the shank. The piece that comes out should be curved on the cut side, leaving a concave surface where it is removed. Following this curve, slice off thin pieces and work up the ham evenly and neatly. The meat lie-comes wider as you continue up the ham and the slices will, therefore, be larger. They will have a curved appearance as you cut them, but will flatten out as you lay them on the plate. Two or three thin slices are more desirable than one thick one. The underside can be carved parallel to the bone, like a leg of lamb. The remainder of the meat and the chunk cut away at the beginning should be used for julienne of meat for salads or for any dish in which chopped ham is used.
Vol au Vent de Ris de Veau
Vol mean flight, and ris means laugh. Vent mean wind, and veau means calf. Put them together and what do they spell?
Sweetbreads of veal in a patty shell!
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