1481 | Emincée of Chicken on Croustades à la Hugh J. Grant.
—Have two fine chickens of about two pounds each; singe, draw, wash, and wipe well; cut off the breasts of each chicken, then cut the breasts into very thin, square pieces. Season them with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and lay on a dish until further action. Have in a saucepan on the hot range one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour; thoroughly mix for five minutes, without browning; gradually add a cupful of hot milk, continually stirring while adding it; season with half a teaspoonful of salt, the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper and a very little grated nutmeg; let slowly cook for twelve minutes. Heat up in a sautoire one tablespoonful of clarified butter, then add the pieces of chicken; cook slowly for five minutes, tossing them well, and taking special care not to let them get brown; moisten with a tablespoonful of Madeira wine, let reduce for thirty seconds, then strain the other through a fine sieve into the chicken, mix well together, let slowly simmer on the corner of the range for five minutes. Place on a board or a marble table a quarter of a pound of sifted flour, make a hollow space in the centre; have in it three ounces of good butter; gradually pour in a gill of cold water, mixing well together meanwhile, until it is thoroughly incorporated; sprinkle a little flour over and let rest for five minutes. Have six tartlet molds, lightly butter them, roll out the paste to an eighth of an inch thick, then with a pastry cutter cut out six pieces, two inches in diameter larger than the tartlet molds. Arrange one piece into each mold, gently press it around with the fingers, fill up each mold with cracker-dust, and then place them in a moderate oven for ten minutes. Remove them from the oven, empty them of the cracker-dust, remove from the molds, and then fill them with the prepared chicken, equally divided, and giving them a pyramid shape. Have six thin slices of truffle, place one slice on top of each right in the centre, dress on a hot silver dish a folded napkin and send to the table.
The remaining legs can be used for broiling, stewing, or for soup purposes.