Cold Pie En Timballe

THIS sort of pie is preferable in taste as well as in appearance. The paste is made as under: choose a stew-pan that will let the pie out easily when baked. I mean a stew-pan that is not narrower at the opening than at the bottom; butter it well all round, and spread enough paste over the dresser with the rolling-pin to fill the inside of it, then take a smaller stew-pan, one that can go easily into the other, flour it to prevent the paste from sticking to it, and put the paste over the bottom of it. Keep it turned upside down, then put the large stew-pan over the paste, and turn them both over together. Now take out the small pan, and with your fingers stick the paste equally all round the large one, observing that you must leave no air between the paste and the pan. Keep the paste of an equal thickness. Next trim your paste with slices of fat bacon, and then put in whatever you mean to make your pie of; whether poultry or game. Put the breast downwards close to the bacon, then squeeze some farce into all the cavities to fill them up. Next put some veal all over the bird or fowl, seasoning it very highly with salt, pepper, spices, Cayenne, etc. etc. Then put a few slices of ham, and fill up the pie, though not quite to the top, with force; cover the whole with slices of bacon; put here and there a small bit of butter, and then turn down the upper part of the paste all round the stew-pan, laying it equally flat. Roll a bit of paste, the same circumference as the stew-pan, about the thickness of a finger, rub the paste over with a brush dipped in water, and shut the pie with the round piece, pressing hard with your hand every where, in order to stick the two pastes together, then make an air-hole in your pie with the end of a knife, put it into a hottish oven, and when the top is sufficiently coloured, cover it with paper. Four hours are required to bake a large pie, a small one of course will take less time.

To Make Cold Or Hot Pies, Either Of Fowl, Or Game, Either Dressed Or In Timballes

Timballes possess the peculiar advantage of never breaking in the oven, as the other pies often do; and above all, the advantage of leaving the best part at the disposal of the eater.

The other way, the best part always remains at the bot-. torn of the pie, and is generally lost. As you leave the timballe to cool in the stew-pan, all the gravy runs downwards, and the fat remains at top. When you serve it, what was at the bottom is then at the top, and of course the best part comes out first.

For either pie or timballe, pick and clean properly your game or poultry, and singe them over the flame of the stove, then bone the birds, taking care to injure the skin as little as possible ; then open them flat on the table, and season with plenty of salt, pepper, spices, and Cayenne; cut some pieces of bacon, (called lardons,) about the thickness of your finger, and a proper length for larding, season them well also in the same way, and lard the inside of the birds with them; lard also some veal, as veal must always be used in pies. Pound some farce, (See Farce, No. 15, page 100), with truffles, seasoning it highly; spread some of it over the flesh of the bird, and roll the bird into its original shape. Now proceed in all respects as directed above. If it is a timballe put the bird first, and then the farce and veal, etc. If a raised pie, put the farce first over the bacon, then the veal, and the bird or fowl, as they must be always at the top. Observe, that when you lard your veal and bird, the bacon must be put in symmetrically, so as to appear, when cut, like a draft-board.

Consomme For The Inside Of The Cold Pie

Take all the bones and trimmings of the bird and veal, add to them a knuckle of veal, and a calf's foot, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with a bit of ham; an onion stuck with four cloves, a bunch of parsley and green onions, seasoned with thyme, bay-leaf, basil, and a bit of garlic; put with this a glass of white wine and a glass of water, cover the stew-pan hermetically, and set it on a slow fire. When the meat is sweated through, moisten to the top with boiling water, and let it boil till the meat is done through. Season with salt and pepper, strain it through a silk sieve, and then reduce it almost to a glaze, to put into the pie when you take it out of the oven. Shake the pan, to introduce the jelly every where.