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Chaudfroid of Snipes

Singe and draw ten snipes, season their interiors, then put them aside with their heads. Cut into thin slices one-half pound of calf's liver and put these in a fryingpan with a little lard, toss them over the fire for a few minutes, then put in with them the tails of the snipes, a pinch of chopped onions, a few sprigs of sweet herbs and some trimmings of truffles, sprinkling over plenty of salt and pepper. When cooked leave the liver and trails till cool, then place them in a mortar with half their quantity of chopped fresh bacon and pound them. Add to the forcemeat two or three truffles cut into small pieces. Stuff the snipes with the liver mixture, roll them into oval shapes, sew them up, and fasten a strip of buttered paper around each. Line the bottom of a stewpan with some trimmings of bacon, put in the snipes, moisten them to half their height with some white wine and gravy made from the bones and trimmings of the snipes. Place a sheet of paper on the top, put on the lid, set it in the oven and braise the snipes for twenty minutes. When cooked, take out the snipes and let them cool, then remove the paper and strings and trim them neatly. Skim the fat off the cooking liquor, strain it through a fine hair-sieve into another stewpan, mix with it one-half pint of brown sauce and boil for fifteen or twenty minutes, skimming occasionally; then stir in with it half its quantity of aspic jelly. When the sauce is thick and smooth strain it through a sieve into another stewpan and leave it until nearly cool, then stand the stewpan on ice and stir it for a few minutes. Plunge the snipes in the sauce and cover them well with it; then arrange them on a baking sheet and leave until the sauce has set. In the meantime cook the heads of the birds, trim them, and glaze them with a paste brush dipped in melted glaze. Remove the snipes from the baking-dish, using a fork for the purpose, cut off all the superfluous sauce, and arrange them in the form of a dome on a small stand. Put one of the heads between each of the birds, separating them with chopped aspic jelly. The chaudfroid is then ready for serving.