For the Sauce Suprême (according to M. Gouffé)
50 ENTRÉES.
Suprême de Volaille.—For this the two sides of the breast of the fowl are lifted off in a piece and split in half (instead of being thinly sliced down), each being then cut in two, these fillets being placed in a well buttered baking dish with a very little lemon juice and chicken stock, covered with a buttered paper and cooked from eight to ten minutes, according to thickness; then dish them alternately with sliced hot cooked tongue cut to match, fill up the centre with a ragout of truffles, and pour sauce suprême round, sending more to table in a boat. French cooks look on a suprême de volaille as a masterpiece, and grudge neither trouble nor expense in preparing it. It is bound to be an expensive dish, as the breast only produces four, or at most eight fillets, though French chefs also use the filets mignons (or the portion answering to that name); moreover they shape the fillets most carefully into a pearshape, by batting and pressing them into shape with a hot wet knife. The sauce is the richest white sauce of the French cuisine, and according to some cooks should be made solely with chicken stock. M. Gouffé however advises it being prepared thus: Put into a pan a gill of chicken glace, three gills of very carefully made velouté sauce (prepared with veal stock), and one quarter gill of essence of mushrooms; bring this all to a boil, then draw it to the side of the stove and let it simmer very gently for half an hour; after skimming it well, stir it gently over the fire till the sauce will mask the spoon, then dilute it a little with strong rich chicken stock. The suprême is always prepared