The Minneapolis Star from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 31

3C Jan. 2, 1974 THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR ASPIC dandy touch of elegance caviar or wit overs A with left 'a zM it I 9 Pi'. I 4 i -3 Caviar in lemon-flavored aspic, above, and Jellied Ham Mousse, below Minneapolis Star Photos by Charles Rjorgrn 3 cups chicken aspic, just to setting stage Capers and stuffed olive slices for garnish Combine the ham, white sauce, beef stock, tomato juice and paprika and heat just to boiling. Soften the gelatin in the cold water and add to the hot ham mixture. Put the mixture through a fine sieve and cool, stirring occasionally.

Whip the cream until stiff and carefully fold the cream and the sherry into the ham mixture. Coat a chilled, 6-cup mold with aspic and decorate aspic in bottom of mold with capers and stuffed olive slices. Coat a layer of aspic over decoration and chill mold thoroughly. Fill center with chilled, but not set, ham filling. Add a layer of aspic on top of the filling.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Unmold on chilled serving dish, garnish and serve. Serves 4-6. JELLIED CHICKEN MOUSSE Follow directions for ham mousse, substituting fine-ground chicken for ham, rich chicken stock for the beef stock and tomato juice, poultry seasoning for the paprika and a dry white wine for the sherry. Mushroom slices or designs cut from truffles can be used for decorations.

RING OF SHELLFISH IN ASPIC 3 cups chicken aspic Hard-cooked egg slices, pimiento pieces, parsley sprigs 2 cups Mayonnaise Chaud-Froid (below) 1 tsp. mustard tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp. chopped parsley Pinch each tarragon, chervil and chives y3tol2 cup each cooked shrimp pieces and diced lobster 1 cup crab meat Coat a 6-cup ring mold with aspic and decorate with hard-cooked egg slices, pimiento and parsley. Add another layer of aspic over decorations and chill to set.

Meanwhile mix the chaud-froid with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and herbs. Stir the seafood into this. Fill the cavity of the mold with the seafood mixture and pour a thin layer of aspic on top of the filling. Chill at least 4 hours or until set. Unmold onto a serving dish.

Garnish, if desired, with tomatoes stuffed with cucumber salad. Serves 4-6. MAYONNAISE CHAUD-FROID 2 (1-tbsp.) env. unflavored gelatin Y2 cup cold water 2 cups mayonnaise Soften the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes; then dissolve, stirring over hot water. Ad to mayonnaise and stir well.

Handle and use as for aspic. Makes 2l2 cups chaud-froid. Whole, poached fish, roasted or stewed (only until done) and chilled poultry and hams can be coated with either mayonnaise chaud-froid or clear aspic. De-boned, cooked and chilled chicken breast can be covered with a layer of liver pate and then mayonnaise chaud-froid, decorated and finally coated with a thin layer of clear aspic. The following recipe is for spinach aspic molded around a canned ham in the can in which the ham was bought.

It is a colorful addition to any buffet. HAM IN SPINACH ASPIC 1 5 to 8-lb. canned ham 2 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach 3 (1-tbsp.) env. unflavored gelatin y2 cup cold water 2 cups chicken aspic, just at setting stage Cherry tomatoes for garnish Remove ham, saving juices and can.

Bake ham at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Remove excess fat and skin from ham. Chill. Bring spinach to a simmer in a small amount of water and simmer 5 minutes. Heat reserved juices from ham and strain.

Soften gelatin in water, then stir into ham juices and simmer, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in spinach. Cool at room temperature until just about to set. Coat chilled ham can with clear aspic, chill, then layer about -inch spinach aspic in bottom of can. Chill to set.

Set chilled ham in can and fill can with remaining spinach aspic. Chill; add covering layer of spinach aspic if necessary. Refrigerate overnight. Spread remaining spinach aspic in shallow pan and chill to set. Unmold ham onto serving platter and cover with a thin layer of clear aspic.

Cut spinach aspic in shallow pan into triangles and use, with cherry tomatoes, to garnish ham. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves about 3 per pound of ham. not constant stirring: this takes longer than using ice, but is less fussy. To line a mold with aspic, chill the mold thoroughly.

Pour a small amount of very cold, just-about-to-set aspic into the' mold, turn and roll the mold to coat all surfaces. The aspic should set immediately. To make a thicker lining, repeat process, allowing each to set before adding another. To decorate a mold, arrange a design of cutouts of olives, egg white, tarragon leaves, capers, pimiento or whatever you wish between layers of aspic. Fix each in place with a few drops of aspic.

When decorations are set, apply a layer of clear aspic over all. To complete the mold, add the salad or other filling, leaving room for a final layer of aspic. Add aspic to fill mold to top. Refrigerate to set. To unmold an aspic, slip a small knife around the top edge to loosen.

Dip the mold in hot water as deep as the mold, and remove it quickly, in one smooth motion. If the mold is not loose, repeat dipping. Pat a few drops of cold water in center of serving plate. This makes it easier to slip the mold if it unmolds off-center. Turn serving plate upside down on top of mold.

Holding securely, flip both over. Remove mold and refrigerate immediately to stop further melting. Garnish as desired and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. To coat a fish, chicken or ham with aspic, the food must be very cold and should be refrigerated between applications of layers of aspic. When the desired thickness of aspic is set on the food, the decorations should be made ready and the design planned.

To decorate, apply a thin coating of aspic and put the decorations in place. If the food is large, such as a ham or whole fish, apply this layer of aspic and the decoration one section at a time so that the aspic will remain soft. Apply another coating of aspic over the decorations and as many more, one at a time, as are needed for the desired thickness of aspic. Foods that are not too large or fragile can be coated on a rack set in a pan, then carefully removed to a serving plate when aspic coating is completed. For large and fragile foods such as a whole-poached fish, the aspic coating must be done on the serving dish.

To do this, place pieces of waxed paper along the food to catch aspic drippings. When aspic coating is completely set, run a knife alongside the food, cutting the aspic drippings away. These recipes illustrate the variety of foods in aspic. The first two recipes are made by a simple method suitable for small molds only. CAVIAR IN ASPIC 1 cups chicken aspic 1 tsp.

fresh lemon juice I A cup caviar, about Pimiento and small lemon peels for decoration Fill small, chilled and lightly oiled mold with chicken aspic that is just about to set. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Pour off aspic that is still liquid and keep at room temperature. Place bits of pimiento and lemon peel in decorative design in aspic in bottom of mold. Refrigerate 15 more minutes to set decorations.

Fill cavity of mold with caviar. If necessary, heat remaining chicken aspic just until it can be poured and pour over the caviar. Chill the mold at least 3 hours. Serve with plain toast rounds. CAMEMBERT IN ASPIC Follow recipe and directions for Caviar in Aspic, substituting sherry for the lemon juice and filling the center with a mixture of about 4 oz.

Camembert cheese, softened and mixed with 2 tbsp. butter and salt and paprika to taste. Serve with rounds of pumpernickel and red radishes. For a cold lunch, serve small, individual molds of Camembert in Aspic with pumper-nickle bread, vegetable relishes and mayonnaise spiked to taste with onion juice. If you have any holiday leftover ham or turkey, serve them in either the ham mousse or the variation suggested for poultry.

JELLIED HAM MOUSSE iy2-2 cups fine ground ham 1 cup thick white sauce cup each beef stock and tomato juice y2 tsp. paprika 2(l-tbsp.) env. unflavored gelatin y2 cup cold water 1 cup heavy cream, whipped 1 tbsp. sherry, optional By BETH ANDERSON Minneapolis Star Staff Writer Dandy aspic creations have long been the focal point of extravagant buffets in fine res-' taurants and hotels. Aspic is simply a clear, sometimes light golden, gelatin that is used to line molds before they are filled and then to cover the filling, or to coat meats, poultry or fish.

Sometimes it encases vegetables, fruits or cheeses. Food purists and many chefs will insist on aspic jelly made from soup stocks cooked with animal or poultry feet and shin bones, which are richer in gelatin than ordinary bones. But consomme, canned or made from bouillon cubes, can be used with unflavored gelatin to achieve similar results. While learning, you will be safer if you use the quick aspic jelly. Once you have mastered the techniques you might want to make your own aspic from stocks.

Aspic jellies can be plain, flavored with wine or mixed with other sauces or mayonnaise. Although some people feel these foods are for the eye rather than the palate, aspic coatings keep food moist. Lavish buffets may feature several foods in aspic, but one aspic creation can highlight a simple buffet at home. Here are recipes for aspic jellies and basic directions. SIMPLEST ASPIC JELLY (1-tbsp.) env.

unfluvorcd gelatin cup cold wafer l'2 cups boiling beef or chicken bouillon Soften the gelatin in cold water for five minutes. Dissolve this in boiling bouillon. Let cool at room temperature until almost set. Makes cups aspic. Variations: Add 2-3 tbsp.

sherry, Madeira or other wine appropriate for the food being used. Add to mixture after the gelatin is dissolved, but before jelly is set. Simmer a small bouquet garni in the bouillon before the gelatin is added. While this simple aspic jelly probably will not need straining, it is important that aspic be completely clear. Professional chefs add egg white and chopped beef to help clear the liquid.

While the egg white alone usually is enough, the chopped beef adds rich flavor. The following recipe is strained through muslin to clarify it. ASPIC JELLY 1'2 lb. each beef bones and veal shinboncs 3 calves' feet 1 leek 1 onion carrot rib celery 6 peppercorns 1 tbsp. salt 4 qt.

water 3 egg whites 12 lb. chopped beef Bouquet garni of tarragon, chervil, a bay leaf and 3 sprigs of parsley Have the butcher slice the bones, shin-bones and calves' feet. Slice the leek, and ceery. Put all this, with the peppercorns, salt and water in a large kettle. Bring to a boil, then simmer 4-5 hours, skimming as necessary throughout cooking.

Strain and discard vegetables and bones. Cool, then remove the fat on the surface. Beat the egg whites well and mix with the chopped beef. Stir this into the cooled liquid. Add bouquet garni and simmer without stirring for 30 minutes.

Strain through a sieve lined with damp muslin. Makes about 6 cups. Test the aspic by chilling a little on a cold saucer. If it does not stiffen or does so only slightly, soften 1 to 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin, depending upon how much is needed, in y2 cup cold water and add to the hot liquid. BASIC DIRECTIONS Successful aspic depends upon two points.

The aspic should be just at setting temperature but still liquid and all other ingredients and utensils should be thoroughly chilled. To cool the aspic, pour hot aspic into a metal bowl, set the bowl in another bowl of cracked ice and, using a metal spoon, stir the aspic constantly until it is just about to congeal. Use it now. It may congeal too much, but can be remelted and cooled again and again during the coating. Cooling can be done at room temperature, with frequent but i tit.

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PEPSI COLA 8 'b 79 Competition deals with peanut butter The subject of the February Taste Recipe Contest is peanut butter recipes. Entries one per reader will be judged on taste, originality, ease of preparation and visual appeal. The winner will receive a watercolor by artist Robert Connolly incorporating the winning recipe. Wednesday, Feb. 6, is the deadline for entries.

The winner will be announced Feb. 27. Send entries to Taste Recipe Contest, The Minneapolis Star, 425 Portland Minneapolis, Minn. 55415. Please include complete address and telephone 4 its i-ri Ht tv l-V fAy IMPORTED DANISH WITH SALAMI Cit 1 IB.

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SLICING 4f SWANSON CHKK. OR TURKEY CUCUMBERS 5 for 2 5 TV DINNERS eachJVV KRAFT PARKAY CHK3UITA MARGARINE lb. 45 BANANAS i 1 2 1 inrtirfriiliifl'ftrk'ii ihiMnrnmflAninfr 1 Minneapolis btar Photo by Koger Njstrom a whole ham i I'Mijii in. Aspic with spinach covers A.