Dressed Crab - Crabe Dresse

Put a fresh crab into a stewpan and boil it in slightly salted water for thirty to forty minutes according to the size of the fish; when cooked take it up and set it aside till cold, then remove the large and small claws, crack the large claw-shells and remove all the bone away, and with a fork carefully remove all the inside, making it quite crumby, and, separating all the pieces carefully, put aside about two tablespoonfuls of this to use later on; join all the little claws together and reserve them for twisting round the crab when it is dished up. This forms a very pretty garnish. Take all the creamy part from the body of the crab, throw away the bag which will be found inside the case near the head; chop up all the creamy part and then put it in a basin with that from the claws, and add for seasoning a dessertspoonful -of anchovy essence, a tablespoonful of French tarragon vinegar and the same of chilli, one tablespoonful of salad oil, a teaspoonful of mixed English and the same of French mustard, a dust of cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt, two tablespoonfuls of stiffly-whipped cream, the strained juice of one lemon, a pinch of castor sugar, a little fresh chopped tarragon and chervil; stir altogether with a wooden spoon, and with it fill up the body case of the crab that has been well washed and dried, piling it up well in the centre. Take that, set aside from the large claws and lightly sprinkle it over this creamy part, place the case thus filled on a dish on a paper, arrange the little claws around it, and here and there garnish it with sprigs of raw green parsley, and serve for breakfast, luncheon, or second course, ball suppers, etc.

Timbal Of Crab A La Rosette Timbale De Crabe A La Rosette

Take a plain timbal mould, put it on ice in a basin and line it about an eighth of an inch thick with Aspic jelly (vol. i.), ornament the bottom of the mould one inch deep, as in engraving, with plainly cooked vegetables, such as macedoine, carrots, turnips, cucumber, and French beans, cut in lengths about half an inch long, and about the thickness of a thick straw; place round the edge of these a ring of cucumber peas or green peas, set this garnish with a little aspic jelly, then pour into the mould a layer of crab puree (prawn or lobster), as below, to about the same depth as the vegetables; let this partly set, then arrange on the side of the mould another layer of the vegetables of the same depth as the preceding layers in a slanting direction from left to right, pour in a little aspic to set it, then add another layer in a contrary direction (see engraving), set with aspic, fill up the mould with crab-puree, and put aside till the contents are set. When ready to dish up, dip the moulds into hot water, pass a clean cloth over the bottom to absorb any moisture, turn out in the centre of a cold entree dish; place little rounds of aspic jelly all round the base, garnish each corner of the dish with a cooked macedoine of vegetables mixed with a thick Mayonnaise sauce (vol. i.), place on the top of each of these bunches some plainly cooked prawns, and serve for an entree or second-course dish, or for a cold collation.