262 THE COOKERY OF THE PHEASANT 



chefs went in for the castellated and decorated pastry 

 which adorned the tables at state banquets, the 

 contents of the vol-au-vent must have sometimes suf- 

 fered. We are inclined to believe that they are the 

 better, now a more unassuming dish is handed round 

 at the diner a la Russe. As for the quenelles and the 

 boudins, they explain themselves, and nothing need be 

 said of them, except they make pretty enough orna- 

 mental entries. Many connoisseurs have a predilection 

 for the dressing a la Soubise \ and there is one recom- 

 mendation in doing pheasants in that way, for they 

 need not necessarily be young. You truss as for 

 boiling, and then braise in rich stock, with bacon 

 and vegetables. Pheasant a la St. Cloud somewhat 

 resembles the a la Sainte- Alliance, but the stuffing 

 is less costly. Partridge, hare, or rabbit may be 

 substituted for the snipe, and the chief ingredients 

 are the livers with chopped truffles and fine herbs. 

 Or a sauce a la Btarnaise may be substituted 

 for the Soubise, though that excellent concoction of 

 the Provengal cooks, which has been a passion of the 

 Basque gentry from time immemorial, is decidedly too 

 prononce in flavour for white game. The garlic and 

 the sharp vinegar go better with a bourgeois dish, such 

 as the poitrine de mouton, which has always been a 

 special breakfast plat de jour at the Caf^ Voisin, in the 



