CHICKEN CROQUETTES

CHICKEN CROQUETTES—Stir a pint of fine chopped chicken into a cup and a quarter of sauce made of one-third cup[Pg 36] of flour, three tablespoons of butter, a cup of chicken stock and one-fourth cup of cream, season with a few drops of onion juice, a teaspoon of lemon, one teaspoonful celery salt and pepper. When thoroughly chilled form into cylindrical shapes, roll in egg and bread crumbs and fry in deep fat. Serve surrounded with peas and figures stamped upon cooked slices of carrot. Season with salt, paprika and butter.

CHICKEN CROQUETTES—Take two chickens weighing about two pounds each, put them into a saucepan with water to cover, add two onions and carrots, a small bunch of parsley and thyme, a few cloves and half a grated nutmeg, and boil until birds are tender; then remove the skin, gristle and sinews and chop the meat as fine as possible. Put into a saucepan one pound of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir over the fire for a few minutes and add half a pint of the liquor the chickens were cooked in and one pint of rich cream, and boil for eight or ten minutes, stirring continually. Remove the pan from the fire, season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg and a little powdered sweet marjoram, add the chopped meat and stir well. Then stir in rapidly the yolks of four eggs, place the saucepan on the fire for a minute, stirring well, turn the mass onto a dish, spread it out and let it get cold. Cover the hands with flour and form the preparation into shapes, dip them into egg beaten with cream, then in sifted breadcrumbs and let them stand for half an hour or so to dry; then fry them a delicate color after plunging into boiling lard. Take them out, drain, place on a napkin on a dish and serve. The remainder of the chicken stock may be used for making consomme or soup.

CHICKEN CROQUETTES WITH FISH FLAVOR—The foundation of all croquettes is a thick white sauce which stiffens when cold, so that mixed with minced fish, chicken or other compounds it can be easily handled and shaped into pears, cylinders, ovals, etc. When cooked the croquettes should be soft and creamy inside. This sauce is made as follows:—

Scald in a double boiler one pint rich milk or cream. Melt in a granite saucepan two even tablespoons butter, then add two heaping tablespoonfuls cornstarch or flour, and one tablespoon of flavor.

When blended add one-third of the hot cream and keep stirring as it cooks and thickens. When perfectly smooth put in[Pg 37] all the cream. The sauce should be very thick. Add the seasoning, a half teaspoonful of salt, a half teaspoonful celery salt, white peppers or paprika to taste, then the meat.

In shaping the croquettes take about a tablespoonful of the mixture and handling gently and carefully, press gently into whatever shape is desired. Have ready a board sprinkled lightly with bread or cracker crumbs, and roll the croquettes lightly in this, taking care not to exert pressure sufficient to break them. Coat the croquettes with some slightly salted beaten egg. Then roll again in the crumbs. Fry in deep hot fat, a few at a time, then drain on paper