Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 Read online

  VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS

  Only sautéed, shoestring, or souffléed potatoes, or homemade potato chips are suggested.

  WINE SUGGESTIONS

  Serve a red Bordeaux-Médoc for chicken, game hens, or pigeon; red Bordeaux-St. Émilion or red Burgundy for game.

  For 6 people, 1 bird apiece

  A Note on the Order of Battle: Although the mushrooms and canapés may be prepared while the birds are roasting, it seems best to do them ahead and relieve pressure, for the roast birds should be served almost as soon as they are done.

  The mushrooms

  1½ lbs. fresh mushrooms

  2 Tb butter

  1 Tb oil

  A 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet

  Trim and wash the mushrooms. Leave whole if small, quarter if large. Dry in a towel. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes in hot butter and oil until they are very lightly browned.

  1 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  ½ clove mashed garlic

  Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic, and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Set aside.

  The canapés

  Homemade-type of white bread

  Cut 6 slices of bread ¼ inch thick. Remove crusts, and cut slices into rectangles 2 by 3½ inches.

  ½ cup clarified butter

  A skillet

  Sauté the bread lightly on each side in hot clarified butter.

  6 poultry or game livers from the birds

  3 Tb fresh, raw pork fat; OR fat bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes, rinsed, and dried

  ¼ tsp salt

  Big pinch of pepper

  1 Tb Madeira, port, or cognac

  Optional: 2 to 3 Tb foie gras

  Trim the livers, cutting off any black or green spots. Chop very fine, almost into a purée, with the pork fat or bacon. Then blend the liver in a bowl with the seasonings, wine, and optional foie gras. Spread the mixture on one side of each rectangle of sautéed bread. Arrange on a broiling pan and set aside. (Preheat broiler in time to cook the canapés just before serving.)

  Roasting the birds

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  Six 10- to 12-ounce, ready-to-cook squab chickens, game hens, squab pigeons, or game birds

  ½ Tb salt

  2 Tb finely minced shallots or green onions

  ½ tsp dried tarragon

  4 Tb butter

  6 strips of bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes, rinsed, and dried

  Season the cavities of the birds with a sprinkling of salt, shallots or onion, and tarragon, and 1 teaspoon of butter. Truss the birds, dry them, and rub with butter. Cut the blanched bacon in half, crosswise, and tie 2 strips over the breast and thighs of each bird.

  A shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the birds easily on their sides

  3 Tb butter melted with 1 Tb good cooking oil

  A basting brush

  Place the birds in the roasting pan, and set on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Baste and turn the birds every 5 to 7 minutes until they are done:

  CHICKENS will take from 30 to 40 minutes; they are done when the last drops of juice from their vents run clear yellow with no trace of rose.

  GAME HENS, as their flesh is usually firmer than chicken, take about 45 minutes; they are done when the flesh of their drumsticks is soft.

  PARTRIDGE and QUAIL, if young and tender, may be judged like chicken; if older, like game hens.

  PIGEON and DOVE may be served slightly underdone if you wish, when their juices run a very pale rose rather than a clear yellow.

  ½ Tb salt

  When done, remove trussing strings, sprinkle the birds with salt, and place them on a warm platter. Set in turned-off oven, its door ajar.

  The sauce

  1 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan. Stir in the shallots or onions and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the stock or bouillon and wine and boil rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices until liquid has reduced to about ½ cup. Correct seasoning. Off heat and just before serving, swirl the butter into the sauce.

  1½ cups brown chicken stock, brown stock, or canned beef bouillon

  ¼ cup Madeira or port

  1 to 2 Tb softened butter

  Final assembly

  Just before serving, run the liver canapés under a hot broiler for a minute, until they are sizzling.

  1 Tb butter

  ¼ tsp salt

  Pinch of pepper

  Toss the mushrooms over moderately high heat with the butter, salt, and pepper.

  A handful of water-cress leaves or parsley sprigs

  Place a canapé under each bird. Surround with the mushrooms, and decorate with water cress or parsley. Spoon the sauce over the birds, and serve.

  CASSEROLE-ROASTED CHICKEN

  POULET POÊLÉ À L’ESTRAGON

  [Casserole-roasted Chicken with Tarragon]

  For: roasters, large fryers, and capons

  When a chicken is cooked this way, it is trussed, browned in butter and oil, then set to roast in a covered casserole with herbs and seasonings. It is a lovely method, as the buttery, aromatic steam in the casserole gives the chicken great tenderness and flavor. While oven cooking is more even, the top of the stove may be used if your casserole is heavy; then the chicken must be turned and basted frequently, and the cooking will be a little longer than for oven cooking.

  VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

  They are the same as for a roast chicken.

  For 4 people

  Estimated roasting time: 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes for a 3-lb. bird. See chart for other sizes.

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  A 3-lb., ready-to-cook roasting chicken

  ¼ tsp salt

  Pinch of pepper

  2 Tb butter

  3 or 4 sprigs of fresh tarragon or ½ tsp of dried tarragon

  Season the cavity of the chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Insert the tarragon leaves, or sprinkle in dried tarragon. Truss the chicken. Dry it thoroughly and rub the skin with the rest of the butter.

  A heavy fireproof casserole just large enough to hold the chicken on its back and on its side

  2 Tb butter

  1 Tb oil, more if needed

  Set the casserole over moderately high heat with the butter and oil. When the butter foam has begun to subside, lay in the chicken, breast down. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes, regulating heat so butter is always very hot but not burning. Turn the chicken on another side, using 2 wooden spoons or a towel. Be sure not to break the chicken skin. Continue browning and turning the chicken until it is a nice golden color almost all over, particularly on the breast and legs. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Add more oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the casserole filmed.

  3 Tb butter, if necessary

  Remove the chicken. Pour out the browning fat if it has burned, and add fresh butter.

  ½ cup sliced onions

  ¼ cup sliced carrots

  ¼ tsp salt

  3 or 4 sprigs of fresh tarragon or ½ tsp dried tarragon

  Cook the carrots and onions slowly in the casserole for 5 minutes without browning. Add the salt and tarragon.

  ¼ tsp salt

  A bulb baster Aluminum foil

  A tight-fitting cover for the casserole

  Salt the chicken. Set it breast up over the vegetables and baste it with the butter in the casserole. Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the chicken, cover the casserole, and reheat it on top of the stove until you hear the chicken sizzling. Then place the casserole on a rack in the middle level of the preheated oven.

  Roast for 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes, regulating heat so chicken is always making quiet cooking noises. Baste once or twice with the butter and juices in the casserole. The chicken is done when its drumsticks move in their sockets, and when the last drops drained from its vent run clear yellow.

  Remove the chicken to a serving platter and discard t
russing strings.

  Brown tarragon sauce

  2 cups brown chicken stock, or 1 cup canned beef bouillon and 1 cup canned chicken broth

  1 Tb cornstarch blended with 2 Tb Madeira or port

  2 Tb fresh minced tarragon or parsley

  1 Tb softened butter

  Add the stock or bouillon and broth to the casserole and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up coagulated roasting juices. Then skim off all but a tablespoon of fat. Blend in the cornstarch mixture, simmer a minute, then raise heat and boil rapidly until sauce is lightly thickened. Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more tarragon if you feel it necessary. Strain into a warmed sauceboat. Stir in the herbs and the enrichment butter.

  To serve

  Optional but attractive: 10 to 12 fresh tarragon leaves blanched for 30 seconds in boiling water then rinsed in cold water, and dried on paper towels

  Pour a spoonful of sauce over the chicken, and decorate the breast and legs with optional tarragon leaves. Platter may be garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley or—if you are serving them—sautéed potatoes and broiled tomatoes.

  (*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE

  If the chicken is not to be served for about half an hour, make the sauce except for its butter enrichment, and strain it into a saucepan. Return the chicken to the casserole. Place aluminum foil over it and set the cover askew. Keep the casserole warm over almost simmering water, or in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar. Reheat and butter the sauce just before serving.

  OPTIONAL:

  Farce Duxelles

  [Mushroom Stuffing]

  A chicken will need 10 to 15 minutes more cooking if you fill it with this stuffing.

  For a 3-lb. chicken

  ¾ lb. finely minced fresh mushrooms

  1 Tb butter

  1 Tb oil

  1½ Tb minced shallots or green onions

  A 10-inch skillet

  A handful at a time, twist the mushrooms into a ball in the corner of a towel to extract their juice. Sauté them in hot butter and oil with the shallots or onions for 5 to 8 minutes, until the pieces begin to separate from each other. Place them in a mixing bowl.

  The chicken gizzard, peeled and minced

  The chopped chicken liver

  1 Tb butter

  A small skillet

  Sauté the gizzard for 2 minutes in hot butter. Add the liver and sauté 2 minutes more. Add to the mixing bowl.

  ¼ cup Madeira or port

  Pour the wine into the mushroom cooking skillet and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced to a spoonful. Scrape into the mixing bowl.

  ¼ cup dry, white crumbs from homemade-type of bread

  3 Tb cream cheese

  1 Tb softened butter

  ½ tsp minced fresh or dried tarragon

  2 Tb minced parsley

  ¼ tsp salt

  Big pinch of pepper

  Blend the rest of the ingredients into the mixing bowl and season carefully to taste. Let the stuffing cool. Pack it loosely into the chicken. Sew or skewer the vent and truss the chicken. Then brown and roast it as described in the preceding master recipe.

  VARIATION

  Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme

  [Casserole-roasted Chicken with Bacon, Onions, and Potatoes]

  This is an all-in-one dish where bacon and vegetables are cooked with the chicken and each item takes on a bit of flavor from its neighbors. No other vegetables are needed to make up a main course, but you may wish to serve broiled tomatoes along with it for color.

  For 4 people

  A ½-lb. chunk of bacon

  A fireproof casserole for cooking the chicken

  1 Tb butter

  Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangular strips ½ inch wide and 1½ inches long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water, and dry. In the casserole, sauté the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes in butter until very lightly browned. Remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the casserole.

  A 3-lb., ready-to-cook roasting chicken, trussed and buttered

  Brown the chicken in the hot fat, as described in the master recipe. Remove it to a side dish and pour the fat out of the casserole.

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  15 to 25 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter

  Drop the onions in boiling, salted water and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

  1 to 1½ lbs. “boiling” potatoes or small new potatoes

  Peel the potatoes and trim them into uniform ovals about 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Cover with cold water, and bring to the boil. Drain immediately.

  3 Tb butter

  ¼ tsp salt

  A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in washed cheesecloth

  A bulb baster

  Aluminum foil

  A tight-fitting cover for the casserole

  Heat the butter in the casserole until it is foaming. Add the drained potatoes and roll them around over moderate heat for 2 minutes to evaporate their moisture; this will prevent their sticking to the casserole. Spread them aside, salt the chicken, and place it breast up in the casserole. Place the bacon and onions over the potatoes, and the herb bouquet. Baste all ingredients with the butter in the casserole, lay the aluminum foil over the chicken, and cover the casserole.

  Heat the casserole on top of the stove until the contents are sizzling, then place in the middle level of the preheated oven and roast for 1 hour and 10 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. Baste once or twice with the butter and juices in the pan. No sauce is necessary.

  SAUTÉED CHICKEN

  POULET SAUTÉ

  [Sautéed Chicken]

  For: frying chickens

  In a true sauté the cut-up chicken is cooked entirely in butter, or butter and oil, with seasonings. No liquid comes in contact with it until the very end. It is a quick and delicious way to cook chicken, but should be served as soon as possible after it is done or it loses the fresh and juicy characteristics of a sauté. The fricassees, however, as they cook in a sauce, take well to reheating.

  A NOTE ON DISJOINTING THE CHICKEN

  French chicken is disjointed so that each wing includes a strip from the lower part of the breast. The breast minus ribs is cut in two, crosswise. The drumsticks are separated from the second joints. This makes 8 good serving pieces, plus the back cut in two, crosswise, if you wish to include it.

  American chicken is usually disjointed into 2 drumsticks, 2 second joints, the 2 halves of the breast, and the 2 wings with no breast meat attached. So that the breasts will cook evenly, slip a knife under the ribs and remove them. Each breast half may be chopped in two, crosswise, if you wish.

  WINE AND VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS

  These are the same as for roast chicken.

  For 4 to 6 people.

  Total cooking time: 30 to 35 minutes

  Browning the chicken (8 to 10 minutes)

  2½ to 3 lbs. of cut-up frying

  Dry each piece of chicken thoroughly. It will not chicken brown if it is damp.

  A heavy, 10-inch casserole, skillet, or electric skillet

  2 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil, more if necessary to keep bottom of pan filmed with fat

  Tongs for turning the chicken

  Place the casserole or skillet over moderately high heat with the butter and oil (360 degrees for an electric skillet). When you see that the butter foam has almost subsided, add as many chicken pieces, skin-side down, as will fit easily in one layer. In 2 to 3 minutes, when the chicken has browned to a nice golden color on one side, turn it to brown on another side. Regulate heat so fat is always very hot but not burning. Remove browned pieces as they are done and add fresh ones until all pieces have browned.

  Finishing the cooking (20 to 25 minutes)

  Salt and pepper

  Optional: 1 to 2 tsp fresh green herbs: thyme, basil, and tarragon, or tarragon only; or 1 tsp dried herbs

  2 or 3 Tb butter, if necessary

  Season
the dark meat with salt, pepper, and optional herbs. (The wings and breasts are done later, as they cook faster.) If the browning fat has burned, pour it out of the casserole and add the fresh butter. Place over moderate heat (300 degrees for an electric skillet). Add the dark meats, cover the casserole, and cook slowly for 8 to 9 minutes.

  Salt and pepper

  A bulb baster

  Season the white meat, add it to the dark meat, and baste the chicken with the butter in the casserole. Cover and continue cooking for about 15 minutes, turning and basting the chicken 2 or 3 times.

  The meat is done when the fattest part of the drumsticks is tender if pinched and the chicken juices run clear yellow when the meat is pricked deeply with a fork.

  Remove the chicken to a hot serving platter. Cover and keep warm for 2 to 3 minutes while finishing the sauce.

  Brown deglazing sauce

  1 Tb minced shallot or green onions

  Optional: ½ cup dry white wine or ⅓ cup dry white vermouth

  ¾ to 1 cup brown chicken stock, canned beef bouillon, or canned chicken broth