Recipe: The Pillow of Fair Aurora

The evening before

1 In a bowl, pass through the mincer the meat from the pheasant thighs, the pork, veal, and fatty bacon. Then add the fine cognac, season with salt and pepper, add a little truffle juice if you have it, and mix everything well together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

The next day, 2 hours 30 minutes before serving

2 Remove your baking sheet from the oven and preheat it to 410°F (210 °C) (gas mark 7).

3 On this sheet, place parchment paper at the bottom, then lay your first square of puff pastry. Brush egg wash all around the edges for a width of 3 cm.

4 Spread half of the farce (without touching the glazed edges), then in the center, place all your pieces of foie gras, the truffle cut into sticks, the liver and liver and heart pieces cut the same way, as well as the two pheasant fillets cut into strips, the other game fillets, and the diced wild boar. Then add and spread the rest of the farce.

5 Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry, pressing down on the edges to seal them well, and flute around the edges. In the center, make 3 small holes where you will insert a small cardboard cylinder of 1 cm (chimney), then glaze your pillow and decorate it with small shapes cut out with a pastry cutter from the remaining pastry.

6 Place your sheet in the middle of the oven at this high temperature for 30 minutes, then lower to 300°F (150 °C) (gas mark 5) for the 90 minutes that follow (a total of 2 hours cooking).

7 Remove your Pillow and let it cool down. When it is still warm (about 6 hours later), pour your aspic and let it cool this way (at least another 6 hours). Cut it with a serrated knife into eight square portions. The best way to serve it is with a sauceboat of Périgueux sauce on the side.

8 From there on, all that remains is a sensory visit to a monument of French gastronomy.