Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1

by Julia Child

  1¼ cups whipping cream

  1½ cups excellent white chicken stock, OR, canned chicken broth simmered for 20 minutes with ¼ cup thinly sliced carrots, ¼ cup thinly sliced onions, and a pinch of thyme

  1 sprig fresh tarragon or ¼ tsp dried tarragon

  Salt and white pepper

  Simmer the cream, chicken stock or broth, and tarragon slowly in the saucepan for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to 2 cups. Correct seasoning, and strain.

  1 Tb (1 envelope) gelatin

  3 Tb dry white vermouth

  Soften the gelatin in the vermouth for a few minutes. Then beat it into the cream mixture and stir over low heat until the gelatin has dissolved completely. Cool, or stir over cracked ice, until the sauce has thickened slightly and is just about to congeal.

  Spoon a layer of sauce over the chilled chicken breasts, and refrigerate until the sauce has set. Repeat with successive coats of almost-set sauce until all but enough for a final layer has been used.

  A handful of fresh tarragon leaves or tarragon leaves preserved in vinegar; OR, thinly sliced or finely diced truffle

  Water cress or parsley

  Drop the tarragon leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds, refresh in ice water, and dry. Immediately after coating the chicken with the final layer of sauce, decorate with the tarragon leaves or truffles. Surround the edge of the platter with water cress, or sprigs of parsley, and refrigerate again until serving time.

  AN ELABORATION

  After the tarragon leaves or slices of truffle have set, the chicken breasts may be given one or two coats of almost-set jelly, as in the preceding recipe for chicken tarragon, and the platter may be decorated with chopped jelly or jelly cutouts.

  VARIATIONS

  Suprêmes de Volaille en Chaud-froid à l’Écossaise

  [Breast of Chicken in Chaud-froid with Diced Vegetables]

  Ingredients for the master recipe

  ⅓ cup each: finely diced carrots, celery, and onions cooked until tender in

  1½ Tb butter 1 or 2 finely minced truffles, or ¼ cup diced mushrooms cooked in butter

  Proceed as for the master recipe, but stir the cooked carrots, celery, and onions into the chicken stock and cream mixture as it is reducing. Mix in the truffles or mushrooms, then the gelatin called for in the recipe, and continue as directed. With this sauce, the chicken breasts need no other decoration.

  Suprêmes et Mousse de Volaille en Chaud-froid

  [Breasts of Chicken and Mousse of Chicken in Chaud-froid]

  When you wish to make something wonderful for an elaborate buffet, such as a wedding breakfast, here is a good idea. Directions for chopped jelly, jelly cutouts, and other decorative elements are at the beginning of this section on aspics. We shall not note the number of servings for this recipe, as it is designed primarily to give you an indication of how to go about such a dish.

  Ingredients for chicken breasts in chaud-froid (the master recipe)

  Cook and chill the chicken breasts and prepare the chaud-froid sauce as directed in the master recipe. The chicken breasts may be cut in halves or in thirds, if you wish.

  A mousse of chicken, or of chicken livers

  Sufficient jelly for glazing and for other decorations (jellied stock, or consommé with gelatin)

  A chilled serving platter

  Unmold the mousse on the platter and pour around it a ⅛-inch layer of almost-set jelly. Chill.

  Place the chilled chicken breasts on a rack set over a tray, and coat the breasts with several layers of chaud-froid sauce, chilling between each layer. Decorate with truffles, tarragon leaves, or whatever else you wish; then chill and glaze with coats of almost-set jelly. With two knives lift each breast off the rack and arrange on the platter around the mousse. Decorate platter with chopped jelly or jelly cutouts. Chill until shortly before serving time.

  Crabe ou Homard en Chaud-froid, Blanche Neige

  [Crab or Lobster in Chaud-froid]

  Crab or lobster in chaud-froid follows the general method of chicken breasts in chaud-froid, and makes a decorative cold first course or summer luncheon dish. Directions for steaming live lobster (which also apply to crab) are at the beginning of the lobster Thermidor recipe; boil down the steaming-liquid afterward, and use it in place of the fish stock called for in the following recipe.

  For an hors d’oeuvre serving 6 people

  2 cups cooked lobster or crab meat

  3 Tb butter

  An enameled skillet

  2 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  ⅛ tsp dry mustard

  Pinch Cayenne pepper

  Salt and pepper

  3 Tb cognac

  Dice or flake the shellfish meat. Heat the butter to bubbling in the skillet, then stir in the shallots or onions and shellfish meat, and cook slowly for 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard and Cayenne pepper, and season to taste. Then pour in the cognac, and boil rapidly for a minute or two, shaking the skillet, until the cognac has reduced almost completely. Chill.

  1 Tb (1 envelope) gelatin softened in 3 Tb dry white vermouth1¼ cups whipping cream

  1¼ cups white-wine fish stock (shellfish steaming-liquid, or the white-wine stock or the emergency stock following it)

  1 sprig fresh tarragon or ¼ tsp dried tarragon

  Following the recipe for breast of chicken in chaud-froid, simmer the cream and stock together with the tarragon until reduced to 2 cups. Dissolve the gelatin completely in the hot sauce, strain, correct seasoning, and cool until the sauce is almost set.

  Optional: 1 cup almost-set jellied stock crab, lobster, or scallop shells, or porcelain or glass shells of about ½ cup capacity

  Crab or lobster claws, scalloped shellfish meat, truffle slices, or blanched tarragon leaves (enough to decorate the shells)

  Fold 1⅓ cups of the almost-set sauce into the chilled shellfish meat. Arrange the mixture in the shells, and coat with the remaining sauce. Decorate with shellfish claws, shellfish meat, truffle slices, or tarragon leaves. Then, if you wish, chill, and coat with a layer of jellied stock. Chill until shortly before serving time.

  VOLAILLES EN ESCABÈCHE

  [Cold Fowl in Lemon Jelly]

  For: chicken, pigeon, mature pheasant and partridge, and for game hens.

  The Paris restaurateur from whom we borrowed this recipe makes a specialty of escabèche in the late fall when partridge are no longer young, and have turned from perdreau to perdrix. The birds are slowly simmered in wine, stock, olive oil, vinegar, aromatic vegetables, herbs, garlic, and slices of lemon. They are cooled in this liquid which, because of the pectin in the lemon and the gelatin in the poultry bones, turns into a very light jelly. If you want a stiffer jelly, you can add powdered gelatin to the liquid after the birds are cooked. Escabéche, which is Spanish in origin, is usually associated with fish, but it is also extremely successful for elderly poultry as the lemon and vinegar help to tenderize the flesh. Simmering times for various birds are as follows:

  Cut-up frying chicken, 1 hour

  Cut-up roasting chicken, 1½ hours

  Cut-up stewing chicken, 2½ hours or more

  Whole Cornish game hen or pigeon weighing about 1¼ pounds, 1½ hours

  Mature, whole partridge, 2 to 2½ hours

  Mature, cut-up pheasant, 2 to 2½ hours

  For 1 cut-up, 4-lb. stewing chicken (or 1 cut-up, 4-lb. pheasant, or 2 whole game hens or partridges, simmered according to the preceding timetable)

  ½ cup each: thinly sliced onions, carrots and celery

  6 cloves peeled garlic

  A 2-quart saucepan

  ½ cup olive oil

  Place the vegetables and garlic in the saucepan and cook slowly with the olive oil for 10 minutes without browning.

  ½ cup dry white wine or ⅓ cup dry white vermouth

  ⅓ cup wine vinegar

  ½ lemon cut into ⅛-inch slices

  ½ cup thinly sliced green or red bell peppers

  ¼ tsp thyme

  ¼ tsp r
osemary

  ½ bay leaf

  2 parsley sprigs

  5 peppercorns

  2 cups white stock or canned chicken broth

  Salt

  Stir in all the ingredients at the left and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and salt lightly if necessary.

  A slotted spoonA cut-up stewing chicken, plus the neck, heart, and peeled gizzard

  A heavy, covered, fireproof casserole just large enough to hold the chicken

  Place the neck, heart, and gizzard in the bottom of the casserole. Arrange the dark meat over them. With a slotted spoon, distribute half the cooked vegetables and lemon slices over the dark meat. Then put in the white meat, cover with the rest of the vegetables, and pour on the cooking broth. Add water if necessary, so chicken is just covered with liquid.

  Bring to the simmer on top of the stove, cover, and simmer very slowly either on the stove or in a preheated 300-degree oven for 2½ hours, or until the chicken is very tender but the meat does not fall from the bones. Uncover, and allow the chicken to cool in the stock for half an hour. Remove any loose bones.

  A serving dish deep enough to hold chicken and sauce

  Salt and pepper

  Arrange the chicken in a deep serving dish. Dip out the vegetables and lemon slices and distribute them on and around the chicken. Skim the fat and oil off the cooking stock and boil the stock down rapidly if necessary until it has reduced to 2 cups. Correct seasoning, and strain over the chicken. Allow the dish to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. When chilled, the sauce will thicken into the consistency of a jellied soup.

  BOEUF MODE EN GELÉE

  [Cold Braised Beef in Aspic]

  The braised beef can be turned into a splendid cold dish with very little trouble. If you are going to make the traditional recipe, the proceedings must be started at least the day before you are to serve; the beef needs 24 hours of marination, 5 hours for browning and braising, and 4 to 6 hours for chilling in jelly. Once made, it may be covered and kept under refrigeration for 2 to 3 days. A light red wine and French bread would go very well with it.

  For 10 to 12 people

  Ingredients for the marination and braising of a 5-lb. piece of boneless beef, including the braised carrots and onions

  Marinate and braise the beef, and braise the carrots and onions according to the recipe, but omit the final sauce-thickening step. Remove the meat to a carving board.

  2 Tb (2 envelopes) gelatin

  3 cups cold brown stock or canned consommé

  Salt and pepper

  ¼ cup port or brandy

  A chilled saucer

  Degrease the braising liquid thoroughly, then boil it down until it has reduced to 3½ to 4 cups. Soften the gelatin in the cold stock or consommé, pour it into the braising liquid and stir over low heat until the gelatin has dissolved completely. Correct seasoning carefully. Pour in the port or brandy and strain. The liquid has now become a jelly; test a bit of it in a chilled saucer as described.

  For a simple arrangement in a mold

  A rectangular mold, terrine, or baking dish large enough to hold the sliced meat and vegetables

  Slice the beef into serving pieces and arrange in the mold, interspersing the slices with the braised carrots and onions. Pour in the jelly, which need not be cold. Chill for 4 to 6 hours, or until well set.

  A chilled serving platter Water cress, parsley, or leaves of Boston lettuce

  When ready to serve, dip the mold in hot water for several seconds. Run a knife around the edge of the aspic. Turn platter over mold, reverse, and give a sharp jerk to unmold aspic on platter. Decorate platter with water cress, parsley, or lettuce.

  For a more elaborate arrangement on a platter

  Cut the beef into serving pieces and chill. Chill the braised onions and carrots.

  An oval serving platter

  Pour ⅛ inch of the jelly into the serving platter and chill until set. Then arrange the chilled meat and vegetables on the layer of jelly.

  A small saucepan set in a bowl of cracked ice

  Pour 2 cups of jelly into the saucepan and stir over cracked ice until the jelly is syrupy, and on the point of setting. Spoon a layer over the meat and vegetables. Chill for 10 minutes. Repeat with 2 or 3 more layers of almost-set jelly, chilling the meat between each. Chill the remaining jelly, chop into ⅛-inch pieces, and arrange it around the platter.

  MOLDED MOUSSES

  Mousses Froides—Mousselines

  A beautifully flavored and molded creation glittering in aspic is always impressive as a first course, as a luncheon dish, or on a cold buffet table. All of the following are purées of chicken liver, poultry, ham, or fish mixed with wine and seasonings and, in all but one recipe, jellied stock. Softened butter or lightly whipped cream is combined with them to give body and what the French call moelleux or a velvety texture. An electric blender is a great time-saver. If you do not have one, pass meat twice through the finest blade of the meat grinder (fish may be puréed in a food mill) then beat in the liquids.

  The first recipe in this section may be packed into a decorative bowl and served just as it is; the rest must be molded. If they are molded plain, without a jelly lining in the mold, they should be glazed with jelly after they are un-molded, or with a type of chaud-froid sauce such as the one described for the fish mousse. They may then be decorated with truffles, tarragon leaves, jelly cutouts, or, if it is a fish mousse, with designs of shellfish meat.

  HOW TO “CHEMISER UN MOULE” OR LINE A MOLD WITH JELLY

  A mold lined with jelly is one which contains a fairly stiff coating of jellied stock about ⅛ inch thick all over its inside surface. The mousse is packed into the lined mold, and chilled. When unmolded, the mousse is encased in a shell of jelly. The jelly should be made from clarified stock so it will be clear, glistening, and transparent. Recipes for stock, clarification, homemade jellied stock, and jellies made from canned consommé.

  You can roll a mold over cracked ice with spoonfuls of jellied stock until an adequate layer of jelly has been built up inside the mold, or you can use the following method which we find easier.

  4 cups clarified jelly (jellied stock, or consommé with gelatin)

  A bowl of cracked ice

  The jelly should be fairly stiff; be sure to test it as directed in the recipe for jellies before you line your mold. Chill the jelly over cracked ice until syrupy and almost set.

  A 4-cup mold, preferably of metal as it is easier to un-mold

  Then pour the almost-set jelly into the mold and place the mold in cracked ice. Watch it carefully, and as soon as a ⅛-inch layer of jelly has set around the edges of the mold, pour out the unset jelly. If there is too thick a layer of jelly in the bottom of the mold, scoop it out with a spoon dipped in hot water.

  Chill the mold for about 20 minutes until the jelly lining is stiff. Then pack the cold mousse into the mold as directed in whatever recipe you are following.

  DECORATIONS

  If you wish to decorate the bottom of a mold, begin by pouring into it a 1/16-inch layer of jelly and chill until firm. Choose any of the decorative suggestions, or sliced poultry meat, ham, tongue, shrimp, or lobster; cut into shapes and chill. Dip into almost-set jelly, and arrange on the jelly in the bottom of the mold. Chill until set, then proceed to line the mold with jelly as described in the preceding directions.

  HOW TO UNMOLD AN ASPIC

  Dip the mold in very hot water for 3 to 4 seconds (a nonmetal mold will require a few seconds longer). Quickly wipe it dry. Invert a chilled serving platter over it, and turn upside down. Give it a sharp downward jerk to dislodge it from the mold to the platter.

  Another method is to invert the mold on a chilled platter, and surround the mold with a towel wrung out in very hot water. As soon as the aspic drops, remove the mold.

  MOUSSE DE FOIES DE VOLAILLE

  [Chicken Liver Mousse]

  The following mousse may be packed into a decorative jar and used as a spread f
or cocktail appetizers, or molded in aspic for an hors d’oeuvre. It is easy to make in an electric blender; if you do not have one, purée the liver in a meat grinder or food mill.

  For about 2 cups

  1 lb. or about 2 cups chicken livers

  Look the livers over and remove any greenish or blackish spots. Cut the livers into ½-inch pieces.

  2 Tb minced shallots or green onions

  2 Tb butter

  A skillet

  An electric blender

  Sauté with the shallots or green onions in hot butter for 2 to 3 minutes, until the livers are just stiffened, but still rosy inside. Scrape into the blender jar.

  ⅓ cup Madeira or cognac

  Pour the wine or cognac into the sauté pan and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced to 3 tablespoons. Scrape it into the blender jar.

  ¼ cup whipping cream

  ½ tsp salt

  ⅛ tsp allspice

  ⅛ tsp pepper

  Pinch of thyme

  Add the cream and seasonings to the blender jar. Cover and blend at top speed for several seconds until the liver is a smooth paste.