Pack the mousse firmly and carefully into a buttered ring mold. Level it off at the top, then slap the mold against the table a couple of times to settle the mousse and make it compact. Put the mold in a pan of hot water, cover it with a piece of buttered wax paper, and bake it in a moderately hot oven (375°F) for 15 to 18 minutes, until a small pointed knife or a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the mousse stand a few minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Fill the center of the ring with lobster Newberg.
Homard Newberg (Lobster Newberg)
With a heavy butcher knife, remove the claws from 3 live lobsters weighing 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds each, and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut the bodies into 3 or 4 pieces. Sprinkle the pieces with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little white pepper and sauté them for 5 minutes in 3 tablespoons butter in a large shallow pan. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or onion. Pour 2 or 3 tablespoons Cognac over the lobsters and ignite it. When the flame burns out, add 1/4 cup dry Sherry and 1 1/2 cups light cream. Cover the pan closely and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the lobsters and reduce the liquid in the pan to about one-third its original quantity. Add 1 cup cream sauce made with 2 tablespoons each butter and flour, and bring the sauce to the boil. Mix 2 egg yolks with 1/3 cup heavy cream and add some of the hot sauce. Return this mixture to the pan, stirring briskly all the time. Remove the sauce from the heat the minute it reaches the boil and add 1/4 cup dry Sherry. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and correct the seasoning with salt. Remove the meat from the lobster shells, cut it in pieces, cover it with some of the sauce, and heat it, but do not allow it to boil. Fill the center of the mousse ring with lobster and sauce and spoon the rest of the sauce over the mousse.
Canned truffles come peeled and unpeeled. If they are unpeeled, the rough skin must be cut away as thinly as possible, and the peelings reserved for another use.
Farce aux Truffles (Truffle Stuffing)
Remove the skin and membranes from 2 pounds fine white fresh pork fat using, if available, panne, or kidney fat. Combine 1/2 pound goose liver or goose liver pâté, the truffle peelings, if any, and 1 teaspoon salt mixed with 1/8 teaspoon Parisian spice or poultry spice. Put fat and liver through the finest blade of the food chopper. Add 6 whole small truffles or three large ones cut in half, a small pinch of thyme, 1/2 bay leaf, finely crushed, the juice from the can of truffles (about 1/2 cup), 2 tablespoons brandy, and 1/4 cup Madeira or Sherry. Mix the stuffing thoroughly and store it in the refrigerator for 12 to 15 hours. Fill the cavity of the bird loosely. This amount is sufficient for a 10- to 12-pound bird.
For a less rich truffle stuffing, I evolved the following formula:
Farce aux Truffles Diat (Truffle Stuffing Diat)
Remove the skin and membranes from 1 1/2 pounds panne, fresh pork kidney fat. Combine 1/2 pound lean pork, or half pork and half veal, 1/4 pound goose liver trimmings or pâté, and 1/4 cup truffle trimmings. Put all through the finest blade of the food chopper. Add 1 teaspoon salt mixed with 1/8 teaspoon Parisian spice or poultry seasoning, a small pinch of thyme, a finely crushed bay leaf, 2 tablespoons brandy, 1/4 cup Madeira or Sherry, and 1/2 cup juice from the can of truffles. Mix all together thoroughly and add 1 lightly beaten egg. Add 6 whole small truffles or 3 large ones cut in half. Store the stuffing in the refrigerator for a few hours or use it immediately.
Another stuffing popular in the holiday season was the traditional one made with chestnuts.
Ritz Chestnut Stuffing
Chop 1 pound each of fresh lean pork and fresh fat pork, using the finest blade of the food chopper. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon Parisian spice or poultry seasoning. Add 1 pound chestnuts, cooked, shelled, and cooked again until they are tender, and 1 cup fresh bread crumbs. Toss all together lightly and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Madeira or Sherry. Fill the cavity of the bird loosely. This amount is sufficient for a 10- to 12-pound bird.
Pinterest
