Crawfish a la Bordelaise

Choose live crawfish; set them inside a net, wash them well, and plunge them rapidly into boiling water, leaving them in only sufficiently long to kill, then drain and pick off the small legs. Fry a mirepoix of roots and minced onions in oil, moisten with white wine, season, and add aromatic herbs, a bunch of parsley and a few spoonfuls of brandy; let the whole boil for several minutes, then throw in the crawfish and cook them from ten to fourteen minutes according to their size, while tossing steadily. Take them off the fire, strain the broth through a sieve, leaving the crawfish in the saucepan. Cut in small three-sixteenth of an inch squares or in Julienne, some red part of carrots, and tender celery roots, parboil both in salted water, and then drain, fry without coloring in some butter, onions, cut in three-sixteenths of an inch squares, add to it the roots, and fry together for a few minutes, then moisten with two or three spoonfuls of broth and the crawfish stock; let the liquid fall twice to a glaze so that the vegetables are well cooked, and moisten again with the stock of the crawfish reduced to a half-glaze. Cook together for five or six minutes, then thicken with small pieces of butter kneaded with flour, adding also two or three spoonfuls of Madeira wine and a dash of cayenne pepper; remove the sauce to the side of the fire in order to add butter to it. Dress the crawfish on a deep dish with a little of their own broth, and serve the sauce in a separate sauce-boat.