Lay the bird on a board on its back. Using a very sharp knife, cut the breasts carefully from the carcass. Then cut away the bones under the breasts, leaving a bowl-like cavity with the legs and second joints intact at the sides. Fill the cavity with ham mousse, rounding it up to reshape the bird. Remove the skin from the breasts and slice the meat neatly. Arrange the slices on each side of the rounded surface of the ham mousse. Decorate with tarragon leaves that have been parboiled for a few seconds, then put in cold water and drained, and with chervil leaves and slices or small designs of truffle. Chill thoroughly and coat with clear aspic. Pour a ½-inch layer of aspic in a cold serving dish and place the chicken on it. Let all congeal. Garnish with small cornucopias of sliced Virginia ham stuffed with grated horseradish mixed with whipped cream, and with cucumber salad in tiny lettuce nests.
Mousse de Jambon(Ham Mousse)
Put enough ham through the food chopper, using the finest blade, to make ½ cup. Add 1 cup meat broth, 1 cup tomato juice, and ½ teaspoon paprika, and bring the mixture to a boil. Soften 1 envelope gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water and dissolve it in the hot mixture. Force the mixture through a fine sieve and cool it over cracked ice, stirring. Fold in 2 cups whipped cream, 1 tablespoon Sherry, and I or 2 drops red vegetable coloring. Chill the mousse until it begins to congeal and use it to fill the capon for capon Virginia.
This ham mousse can also be poured into a serving bowl, decorated with tarragon leaves, chervil, and truffle slices, and coated with aspic, or it may be molded in aspic.
Suprême de Caneton à l'Orange (Jellied Breast of Duckling with Orange)
Roast 2 ducklings weighing about 5 pounds each for about 1 hour, until they are just done. Remove the peel from 1 large orange, discard the white pith, and cut the zest into julienne strips. Cover the strips with water, parboil them for 2 minutes, and drain. Put the zest into a howl with 2 tablespoons Curaçao. Remove the breasts from the cooled ducklings; the skin may be removed or not. Melt 2 ½ cups aspic, drain the Curaçao from the orange julienne, and add the liqueur to the aspic. Arrange the breasts on a serving dish, sprinkle them with the well-drained orange julienne, and put them in the refrigerator to chill. Chill the aspic, but do not allow it to congeal. Coat the duck breasts with the aspic and chill them. Garnish the dish with orange slices. Chill the remaining aspic until it is stiff, chop it fine, and use it to decorate the platter, forcing it through a pastry tube into rounds or strips.
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