Aspics and chauds-froids should be as cold as is possible without actually jelling when they are used, and the food which they are to cover should also be cold. If the aspic begins to stiffen as it is being applied it may be softened over heat.
People who are willing to take the trouble to prepare an elaborate aspic pièce montée are also willing to create the necessary elegant decorations, which in classic French cuisine include flower designs and geometrical patterns made with truffles, hard-cooked egg whites and yolks, and leaves of tarragon or chervil. The truffles and egg whites are sliced thin and cut into the desired shapes and the egg yolks may be passed through a fine sieve. Tarragon leaves are plunged into boiling water for a minute, then into ice water. This treatment makes them pliable and preserves the natural green color. Chervil's feathery delicacy makes it more attractive than the more commonplace parsley. The serving plate may be garnished with tiny cherry tomatoes and water cress, with cherries, with white grapes. with orange slices, or with a salad of thinly sliced cucumber in lettuce nests or tomato cups. Cornucopias of thinly sliced ham, filled with a mixture of horseradish and whipped cream, make an attractive garnish. And of course aspic itself is used as a garnish. For this purpose it is poured into a shallow pan in a layer ½ inch thick, congealed. and cut into small diamonds. Crescents, or other shapes, or it may be stirred with a fork and forced through a pastry bag in decorative strips and mounds, or spooned onto a platter to serve as a bed for the jellied preparation.
Chaud-Froid de Fricassée de Poulet(Chicken Fricassee Chaud-Froid)
Clean and singe 2 young chickens weighing about 2 ½ pounds each. Remove the breasts and the legs with the second joints and season them with ½ teaspoon salt and a little pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, lay the chicken pieces in it, and add 8 small white onions and 12 cleaned fresh mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, until the chicken is firm but has not taken on color. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot, 1 clove garlic, crushed, and 2 tablespoons flour. Mix all together well. Add 1 cup white wine. 1 ½ cups liquid aspic, and a faggot made by tying together 1 stalk of celery, 4 sprigs of parsley. ½ bay leaf, and a little thyme. Cover the pan and simmer the chickens slowly for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the breasts and cook the legs for 5 minutes longer. Lay the chicken on a serving dish, remove the skin if you wish, place the mushrooms on the chicken, and arrange the onions around it.
Cook the sauce until it is reduced to half its original quantity. Mix 2 egg yolks with ½ cup warm heavy cream and combine it with the sauce. Correct the seasoning with salt and bring the sauce just to the boiling point, stirring constantly, but do not allow it to boil. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and cool it. Coat the cooled chicken and the mushrooms with this chaud froid.
Aspic
Place in a large kettle 3 pounds each of beef bones and veal shin bones, 6 calf's feet, prepared, 3 each of carrots, onions, and leeks, all sliced, 1 stalk of celery, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 gallons water. Bring the liquid to a boil, skim it, and boil it gently for about 5 hours, skimming as needed. Strain the stock, cool it, and remove the fat from the surface. Clarify as follows: Beat lightly 4 egg whites, mix them with 1 pound lean chopped beef, and add the mixture to the cold broth. Add 12 peppercorns, 1 tablespoon salt, 4 sprigs each of tarragon and chervil, 6 sprigs of parsley, and 1 bay leaf. Heat slowly, stirring constantly until the boiling point is reached, reduce the heat, and simmer the stock very gently for 50 minutes. Strain the stock through fine muslin and add to it ½ cup Sherry or Madeira. If calf's feet are not available, add to the hot strained broth 2 envelopes gelatin softened in ½ cup cold water. Chill the aspic. If it does not congeal, reheat it and add more gelatin. Aspic keeps for a week in the refrigerator, indefinitely in the home freezer.
Calf's Feet for Aspic
Have the butcher split the feet. Wash them well, put them in a kettle, add salted water to cover and bring the water to a boil. Cook the bones for about 5 minutes, until the scum stops coming to the top. Rinse the bones well and add them to the soup kettle.
Chicken Aspic
To the recipe for aspic, add a fowl and a quantity of prepared chicken feet.
Chicken Feel for Aspic
Remove the nails, wash the feet, and put them in a kettle with salted water to cover. Bring the water to a boil. When the skin loosens, plunge the feet into cold water, remove the skins and discard them. Add the cleaned feet to the soup kettle.
Poulet à I'Estragon à la Gelée (jellied Chicken with Tarragon)
Clean and singe a 3-pound chicken. Remove the leaves from 5 or 6 stalks of tarragon and set them aside for garnishing. Put 2 or 3 of the tarragon stems into the cavity of the chicken, truss the bird for roasting, and sprinkle it with salt. Lay the bird on its side in a roasting pan and spread it with 2 tablespoons butter. Add ¼ cup hot water to the pan. Roast in a moderately hoc oven (375° F.) (or 20 to 25 minutes, turn the bird, and roast it for 20 to 25 minutes longer to brown both sides. Baste the bird frequently with the pan juices and add a little more water if necessary. During the last few minutes of cooking turn the chicken on its back to brown the breast. The chicken is done when the juice that comes out when the second joint is pierced with a fork is clear and colorless, with no tinge of pink.
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