Mousse di Pollo e Prosciutto Cotto

Mousse di Pollo e Prosciutto Cotto
from...
http://italianfood.about.com/od/meatantipasti/r/blr0863.htm

Chicken and Ham Mousse, or Mousse di Pollo e Prosciutto Cotto: An elegant dish to serve during a formal meal, or perhaps at a nice party. To serve six as an entremet during a meal, you'll need:

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces (200 g) ham
• 8 ounces (200 g) chicken breast
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup fairly thick béchamel sauce, made ahead (see link below), allowed to cool, and stirred well
• Salt & white pepper to taste
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped\
• 4 ounces (100 g) black truffles
• Brandy
• 2 cups firm chicken gelatin, to serve as garnish

PREPARATION:

Begin by dicing the truffles and setting them to soak in a little brandy.

Mince the ham, and then combine it with half the butter and half the béchamel sauce. Put the mixture through a strainer and collect it in a bowl.

Sauté the chicken in a chunk of the remaining butter, seasoning it lightly with salt and pepper.

Grind it up and combine it with the remaining butter and béchamel sauce, then put the mixture through a strainer, into a second bowl.

Fold half the whipped cream into each of the bowls, and the diced truffles into the chicken mixture.

Lightly oil a smooth-sided mold large enough to hold both mixtures. Line it with the ham mixture, pressing it against the sides so it sticks. There should be a hollow in the middle; fill it with the chicken mixture. Chill the mold for several hours in the refrigerator, and come serving time turn it out on an elegant plate. Arrange the gelatin around it to serve as garnish, and it's ready.

White Sauce: Besciamella

According to Pellegrino Artusi, a good béchamel sauce and a properly cooked meat sauce are the principal secrets of refined cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

• Flour
• Unsalted butter
• Milk
• Salt
• Nutmeg (optional)

PREPARATION:

Artusi suggests you begin by lightly browning a heaping tablespoon of flour in a chunk of unsalted butter the size of a walnut, and then has you slowly stir in 2 cups of the best milk, and keep stirring until the mixture appears to be a milk-like cream.

He goes on to say, "If it comes out too stiff, add more milk; should it be too liquid return it to the fire and add another piece of butter rolled in flour. This recipe makes a substantial amount, but you can vary the quantities according to your needs."

While Artusi's instructions work (quite well) the process isn't quite as easy as he suggests, at least not on the first attempt. Once you've heated the butter and flour, add the milk very slowly, while stirring. The flour will bubble and expand; stir vigorously to keep lumps from forming. Should they form anyway, reduce the flow of milk to a trickle until you've stirred them out. Once you've added all the milk, stir the sauce slowly over a moderate flame until it thickens. Depending upon what you plan to use it for, you may wish to season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Making béchamel sauce in a microwave oven is much easier and faster than making it over the stove. Melt the butter and stir in the flour, then stir in the milk and, if you wish, salt and pepper. Heat the sauce on high power for 1 minute and stir it briskly till most of the lumps are gone. Heat it for five more minutes at medium power, stirring every minute or so. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, and it's ready. Pastry cream can also be made this way.