Mousseline of Lobster

Select a plain cylindrical mold (Fig. 150) and incrust it in pounded ice; cut some crosswise slices of large green gherkins, of equal size and thickness, lift them up with the pointed end of a larding needle, dip into half-set jelly, and then arrange them symmetrically against the sides of the mold; coat this decoration lightly with jelly. Cut up into quarter-inch dice the claw meat of four lobsters and enclose them in a small saucepan. Pound the tail meat with two or three spoonfuls of bechamel (No. 409), pass it through a sieve and return it to the mortar to pound once more, adding three or four gills of blond chaudfroid sauce (No. 596), a few spoonfuls of jelly (No. 103) and a few drops of tarragon vinegar; season highly and set the preparation in a saucepan to thicken lightly while stirring on ice; incorporate into this five or six spoonfuls of well-drained whipped cream. After this preparation is well smoothed add to it the dice pieces of claw meat and with the whole fill up the coated mold; put on ice for one hour. Just when ready to serve dip the mold in warm water and invert the contents on a dish having a small support fastened to the center; on top of this place a hatelet garnished with fine shrimps or crawfish of graduated sizes, and serve at the same time a separate mayonnaise sauce (No. 606).