Soles a la Normande

Raise the fillets from four medium sized soles weighing about a pound each; remove the skin, pare them neatly and fold in two. Put them on a buttered baking sheet, season with salt, pepper and chopped onions and moisten to their height with white wine and mushroom broth or else court boullion (No. 39), let the liquid come to a boil, then set the pan in a moderate oven to leave until the fish is well cooked, basting frequently with the stock; drain off the fish and strain the stock, then reduce it with some veloute (No. 415) and thicken with raw egg-yolks, cream and fresh butter. Dress the sole fillets in a circle on a dish and garnish the inside border with half circular-shaped croutons three-sixteenth of an inch thick and an inch and a quarter in diameter; heat the dish slightly, dip the flat side of the crouton in beaten eggs, stick it to the plate, besprinkle with melted butter and color in a hot oven. Around the fillets of sole arrange some quenelles molded in a coffeespoon (No. 155), some mussels or oysters from which the hard parts have been removed and channeled and turned mushroom heads (No. 118), then cover the whole with the sauce. Garnish the inside of the circle with fillets of smelts or milts a la villeroi, drip over the surface thin lines of meat glaze (No. 402), using a brush for the purpose, and lay trussed crawfish on top.