mirepoix, season well with salt and pepper, and cook in a quick oven for about 40 minutes. Baste frequently, and, if necessary, cover the breast with buttered paper to prevent it becoming too brown. When the chicken is done, remove the trussing string and skewers and keep hot. Drain the fat from the baking-tin, add the stock, boil for 2 or 3 minutes, season it to taste, and strain. Garnish the chicken with tufts of crisp watercress, and serve the gravy and bread sauce separately.
Time.—About 1 hour. Average Cost, 4s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Characteristics of Health and Power.—The chief characteristics of health in a fowl are brightness and dryness of eye and nostrils, the comb and wattles firm and ruddy, and the feathers elastic and glossy. The most useful cock is generally the greatest tyrant, who struts among his hens despotically, with his head erect, and with ever watchful eyes. A cock to be handsome should be of medium size, his bill short, his comb bright red, his wattles large, his breast broad, and his wings strong. His head should be small, his legs short and sturdy, and his spurs well-formed; his feathers should be short and close, and the more frequently and heartily he crows, the better father he is likely to become. Medium-sized hens are, as the rule, the best for breeding purposes.
1191.—CHICKEN SALAD. (Fr.—Salade de Volaille.)
Ingredients.—Cold chicken (roast or boiled) cut into joints or pieces if boned; to 4 tablespoonfuls allow 2 tablespoonfuls of finely-shredded celery, 1 tablespoonful of finely shredded white of hard boiled egg, 4 tablespoonfuls of Mayonnaise sauce (see Sauces, No. 201), 1 dessertspoonful of salad-oil, 1 dessertspoonful of vinegar, ½ a teaspoonful of salt, ¼ of a teaspoonful of pepper. For garnishing: pickled gherkins, capers, fillets of anchovy, stoned French olives, lettuce.
Method.—Mix the shredded chicken, celery, and white of egg together, in a bowl, stir in the salad-oil and vinegar, season with the salt and pepper, and let the mixture stand for 1 hour. When ready to serve, stir in the Mayonnaise sauce, range the salad in a dish on a bed of crisp lettuce, garnish the surface with the gherkins, capers, anchovies, olives, and, if liked, the yolks of eggs, previously rubbed through a fine sieve.
Time.—About 1¼ hours. Average Cost, 1s. 9d. to 2s. 3d. for this quantity. Sufficient for 5 persons.
1192.—CHICKEN SAUTÉ. (Fr.—Poulet Sauté.)
See "Chicken à la Marengo," Recipe No. 1149, and "Fowl Fried, with Peas," No. 1230.
1193.—CHICKEN, SMALL SOUFFLÉS OF. (Fr.—Petits Soufflés de Volaille.)
Ingredients.—4 to 5 ozs. of raw chicken, ¼ of a pint of cream, 2 eggs, 1 truffle, salt and pepper, ½ a pint of Béchamel sauce (see Sauces No. 178), salt, pepper.
