Chickens a la Diva—Sauted

Choose good, medium-sized chickens of about two pounds each; draw, singe, and suppress well all the adhering feathers; detach the legs and wings leaving on the pinions and sufficient meat on the breast bones so that they are of the same size as the other four pieces. Put some butter to melt in a sautoir, and when a light brown, lay in the pieces of chicken, seasoning with salt, pepper, and powdered sweet peppers; toss without browning, and moisten with about a gill of veal blond (No. 423) to detach the glaze, and then finish cooking the chickens, moistening as quickly as the stock reduces, and when sufficiently done, dress. Add to the sauce some bechamel (No. 409) and tomato sauce (No. 549), a little tarragon vinegar, and some chopped, blanched shallot; just when ready to serve, thicken with egg-yolks, and butter; strain through a tammy, and pour it over the chickens, bestrewing the top with very green chopped parsley; garnish around with small flat chicken croquettes (No. 877), and inch and a quarter in diameter by half an inch in thickness, and between each of these lay a bordelaise crawfish (No. 1008), placing a channeled mushroom (No. 118) on top of every croquette.