wing cannot be removed, and the whole end joint may be cut off or left as it is.

Now that the fowl is boned make the following stuffing, regulating the quantity on the size of the chicken. Chop half a pound or more, of lean veal, and grind it afterwards, so that it may make a paste. Add a large piece of bread crumb soaked in broth, a tablespoon of grated cheese, three yolks of egg, salt, pepper and, if desired, just a taste of nutmeg. Finally mix also one or two slices of ham and tongue, cut in small pieces. Stuff the boned chicken with this filling, sew up the opening, wrap it tightly in a cloth and put to cook in water on a low fire. When taken from the water, remove the wrapping and brown it, first with butter, then in a sauce made in the following way: Break all the bones that have been extracted from the chicken, the head and neck included, and put them on the fire with dried meat cut in little pieces, butter, onion, celery and carrot, seasoned with salt and pepper. Make the sauce with the water in which the chicken has been boiled, which has naturally become a good chicken broth.

Before sending to the table, remove the thread with which the chicken has been sewed.

41

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES

(Pollo alla contadina)

Take a young chicken and make some little holes in the skin in which you will put some sprigs of rosemary and a clove of garlic cut into five or six pieces. Put it on the fire with chopped lard and season with salt and pepper inside and outside. When it is well browned on all parts add tomatoes cut in pieces, taking care to remove previously all the seeds. Moisten with broth or water. Brown some potatoes in oil, fat or butter, previously cutting them into sections. When browned dip in the sauce of the chicken and serve the whole together.

42

CHICKEN WITH SHERRY

(Pollo al marsala)

Cut the chicken in big pieces and put it in the saucepan with one medium sized onion chopped fine and a piece of butter. Season with salt and pepper and, when it is well browned, add some broth and complete the cooking. Remove the excessive fat from the sauce by sifting through a sieve or otherwise, and put the chicken back on the fire with a glass of Sherry or Marsala wine, removing it from the fire as soon as the sauce begins to boil.

43

CHICKEN WITH SAUSAGES

(Pollo colle salsicce)

Chop fine half an onion and put it in a saucepan with a piece of butter and four or five slices of ham, half an inch wide. Over these ingredients place a whole chicken, season with pepper and a little salt and place on the fire. Brown it on all sides and, when the onion is all melted, add water or broth and three or four sausages freshly made. Let it cook on a low fire, seeing that the sauce remains liquid and does not dry up.

44

CHICKEN WITH EGG SAUCE

(Pollo in salsa d'uova)

Break into pieces a young chicken and put it in the saucepan with a piece of butter. Season with salt and pepper. When it is half browned sprinkle with a pinch of flour to give it color, then complete the cooking with broth. Remove it from the same and put it on a plate. Beat the yolk of one egg with the piece of half a lemon and pour it on the sauce of the chicken, allowing it to simmer for some minutes. Then pour on the chicken and serve hot.

45

CHICKEN BREASTS SAUTÉS

(Petti di pollo alla sauté)

Cut the breast of a fowl in very thin slices, give them the best possible shape and make a whole piece from the little pieces that will remain, cleaning well the breast-bone, crushing and mixing these. Season with salt and pepper and dip the slices in beaten eggs, leaving them for a few hours. Sprinkle with bread crumbs ground fine and sauté in butter. Serve with lemon.

If you want this dish more elaborate prepare a sauce in the following way: Put some good olive oil in a frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom, and cover the oil with a layer of dry mushrooms. Sprinkle over a small quantity of grated cheese and some bread crumbs. Repeat the same operation three or four times, according to the quantity, and finally season with olive oil, salt and pepper and small pieces of butter. Put the pan over the fire and when it has begun to boil pour a small cup of brown stock or broth and a little lemon juice. Remove the same from the fire and pour it on the chicken breast that have been browned as described above.

46

WILD DUCK

(Anitra selvatica)

Clean the duck, putting aside the giblets, and cut off the head and legs. Chop fine a thick slice of ham with both lean and fat together, with a moderate amount of celery, parsley, carrot and half medium sized onion. Put the chopped ham and vegetables in a saucepan and lay the duck on the whole, seasoning with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides and add water to complete the cooking.

Cabbage or lentils, cooked in water and afterward allowed to complete the cooking in the sauce obtained from the duck, form a good addition.

To remove the "gamey" taste from the wild duck, either wash it in vinegar before cooking or scald it in boiling water.

47

STEWED SQUABS

(Piccioni in umido)

Garnish the squabs with whole sage leaves and place them in a saucepan over a bed of small slices of ham containing both lean and fat, season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place on the fire and when they begin to be browned, add a piece of butter and complete the cooking by pouring in some good broth. Before removing from the fire squeeze one lemon over them and garnish with squares or diamonds of toasted bread. Take care not to add too much salt on account of the ham and the broth both containing salt.

Note—Many of these dishes, it will be noticed, are made with broth. When meat broth is not available, it can be prepared with bouillon cubes or with Liebig or Armour Extracts. It is, however, always preferable to use broth made with fresh meat.

48

RAGOUT OF SQUABS

(Manicaretto di piccione)

Cut two or more squabs at the joints, preferably in four parts each, and put them on the fire with a slice of ham, a piece of butter, and a bunch of parsley. When they begin to dry, add some broth and—before they are completely cooked—their giblets and fresh mushrooms cut in slices. Continue pouring in broth and allow the whole to simmer on a low fire. Add another piece of butter over which some flour has been sprinkled, or flour alone. Before serving, remove the ham and the bunch of greens and squeeze some lemon juice over the squabs.

Some sweetbread may be added with good effect, but it must be first scalded and the skin removed.

49

SQUAB TIMBALE

(Timballo di piccioni)

Chop together some ham, onion, celery and carrot, add a piece of butter and place on the fire with one or two squabs, according to the number of guests. Add the giblets from the squabs and some more of chicken, if at hand. Season with salt and pepper, and when the pigeons are browned, pour over some broth to complete the cooking, taking care, however, that the sauce does not become too liquid. Remove the latter and