Chicken Fillets or Breasts a l'Imperatrice

Procure six young chickens each one weighing about a pound and a half; lift off the breasts with the pinions and large fillets attached and suppress all sinews and skin. Chop the fillets on both sides without penetrating through the flesh and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; dampen the surfaces with egg-white, besprinkle with very finely chopped truffles and over these spread a very thin layer of cream forcemeat (No. 75); dip in fresh bread-crumbs and lay them on a buttered sheet, pour butter over and cook in a hot oven. Make some croustades in half heart-shaped buttered bottomless molds lined with puff paste fragments (No. 149) rolled out thin; line them with buttered paper and fill them with rice and then cook in a moderate oven; when done empty out and fill up with bits of celery cut in quarter-inch dice blanched, cooked in broth and fallen to a glaze, then mingled with veloute sauce (No. 415) and thickened; when ready to use with egg-yolks diluted in cream and a few small pats of butter. Lay the breasts on top of these croustades, trim the pinions with paper frills (No. 10) and serve very hot.