The Cook Book by “Oscar” of the Waldorf

Three thousand recipes from the maitre d'hotel of the Waldorf — the hotel kitchen that taught Gilded Age America how to dine, from beef tea to watermelon with champagne.

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Braised Turkey Stuffed with Truffles

Singe and draw a fat hen turkey, cut the neck off, leaving the crop skin as long as possible, scald the feet and rub off the skin. Peel three pounds of truffles and cut them into small balls. Put one and one-half pounds of grated fat bacon into a fryingpan, put in two shallots, two bay leaves, two sprigs of theyme and one clove of garlic, season to taste with pepper and salt and fry over a slow fire. When cool, strain the melted bacon fat into a basin and put in the truffles and half of the truffle trimmings, chopped. Stuff the turkey with the above mixture and truss it as for boiling. Line a braisingpan with slices of fat bacon, place the turkey in wrapped in a sheet of buttered paper, and cover it with three pints of mirepoix and one-half pint of Madeira. When the liquor boils, move the braisingpan to the side of the fire, place hot ashes on the lid and braise the turkey. Make some hot perigueux sauce, using up the balance of the truffle trimmings. When cooked, drain the turkey, untie it, place it on a hot dish, pour some of the hot sauce over it, and serve with the remainder in a sauceboat.

Braised Larded Turkey with Chestnut Puree Singe and draw a small turkey, break the breastbone, cut the legs at the first joint and remove the bone to shorten the legs. When the legs have been singed, push them into the thighs by the opening of the drumsticks. Chop fine a quantity of beef-suet, mix an equal quantity of breadcrumbs with it, and truss the bird with a strong string. Set the skin of the breast and legs by singeing, and lard it with bacon. Put some trimmings of bacon and vegetables into a braisingpan, put in the turkey, moisten it to its height with broth and cover it with a sheet of buttered paper. When boiling, move the pan to the side of the fire, put some hot ashes on the lid and let the broth simmer till the turkey, which should be continually basted with its own cooking liquor, is done. Glaze the breast of the bird with a paste-brush, and when well browned, drain it and put it on a hot dish. Mix an equal quantity of white wine with the cooking liquor, skim off the fat, strain it through a fine hair sieve into another stewpan and boil it quickly until it is reduced to half-glaze. Serve the turkey with the sauce in a sauceboat and a separate dish of chestnut puree.

Turkey Breasts, Spanish Style Proceed as for turkey breasts chipolata, but after cooking for twenty minutes only take the turkey off, place it in another saucepan and baste it with its own gravy, adding one-half pint of Spanish sauce. Blanch one-half pint of chicken or turkey livers, cut them into two or three pieces each, according to their size, and put them into a saucepan with the turkey, adding one-half wineglassful of Madeira wine. Cook for twenty minutes longer, and serve with the livers placed round the breasts and the gravy poured over.

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