Or it may be that for yourself you prefer a roasted black duck, but
cannot gratify your preference because some members of the family will
insist upon calling such a bird "strong," when you know and speak of
the flavor only as being "gamey." Now, there's a way out of the
difficulty for all of you. Just stuff the birds as full as you can
with celery tops, tie thin slices of fat salt pork over their breasts
and roast them till they are quite tender and brown. You will find
the strong flavor entirely gone, while the gamey taste will be so
aided and abetted by the celery that your palate will receive a new
and altogether delightful sensation. Surround the ducks when serving
with a border prepared as follows: Brown some slices of bread in the
oven, and when of a good color and very dry, roll and pass through a
fine sieve, mix these crumbs with a little butter, season them with
salt and pepper and heat well in the oven before using. Serve with the
ducks also a hot apple sauce; make it as you always do and add to one
pint of sauce an ounce of butter.
With either of the ways suggested for cooking game you will want to
serve a salad, probably, and you can't do better than decide to have
one of escarole or of romaine with a simple French dressing. But there
is chicory, of course, and there is lettuce, and both of them in fine
condition, if you don't feel inclined to take my advice. And there are
cucumbers, from hothouses, and there are hothouse tomatoes, that are
expensive or the reverse, according to one's position on the
financial question. In fact, you can get almost any kind of vegetable
or fruit in the large markets to-day, and at all times; and if the
particular thing that you desire happens to be absent, just wait a few
minutes and your order will be filled by lightning express from some
part of the world.
_Index_