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Enjoy Your Meal!!

February Recipe

DEDICATED TO FINE FRENCH COOKING

BY: JEANETTE SMITH

I was thinking the other day what to cook for dinner. It's a dilemma we all face at some point or another. I wanted something different and refreshing something that wasn't run of the mill stuff. So I got on my computer and started to search for recipes. I came across an awesome website that was dedicated to Fine French Cooking made easy. Yeah something I could make! I ask permission from this very nice lady named Kim Steele, to share some of her meals. She grew up in CA but later moved to France and had developed this website with some awesome French recipes. Each month we are going to give you a taste of some Quality French taste something we can all make and change up the dinner table a little. Here is a link to her website www.easy-french-food.com , we give her full credit for the recipes and pictures. So now if you have to cull you don't have to feel so bad, you'll know your bird live up to every expectation in the end!

Poulet Sauce Chasseur

chicken chasseur

Poulet Sauce Chasseur

8 chicken pieces (skinned if you wish)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup cognac
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or bouillon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

In a Dutch oven or other sturdy, deep pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the oil and brown the chicken until golden on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remove from pan.
Drain off the pan drippings, give the pan a quick swipe with a paper towel to clean it a bit and then return it to low heat and add the other tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of oil. When the butter melts, add the minced shallots and cook gently for three minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are softened.
Sprinkle the mushrooms with the tablespoon of flour and cook for one minute stirring constantly. Pour on the cognac, white wine and bouillon and stir in the tomato paste. Add the browned chicken and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how done you like your chicken and how big the pieces are. Serve topped with chopped parsley.

Makes four to six servings.

www.easy-french-food.com

Poulet cordon bleu

4 chicken breast filets, skinned
salt and pepper
4 slices ham
4 slices of cheese, such as Swiss
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter

Using a wooden meat hammer, pound the chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick. Or place the breasts between pieces of wax paper or in a heavy plastic bag and use your rolling pin to flatten them.
Lay out the chicken breasts and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Top each with a slice of cheese and a slice of ham. Roll the chicken up tightly.
Dredge the rolls in the egg and then in the bread crumbs, coating them well. Use toothpicks to hold them together if you wish. Place the rolls in a greased baking pan, seam side down. Place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each roll.
Bake at 350°F for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 4.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce

2 shallots, chopped finely
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whipping cream

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on low heat and add the shallots. Cook the shallots for 7 or 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cream and warm through. That's it, ready to serve.

Makes 1/2 cup

Some say this chicken cordon bleu recipe originated outside of France, but it is certainly eaten a lot in France and it has a French name, so we'll consider it French. The recipe here is for a baked chicken cordon bleu, which is perhaps a bit healthier and easier then frying the breaded chicken and ham rolls in a pan. You'll also find a quick chicken cordon bleu sauce to pour on top.

The Cordon Bleu

In 1578, during the thick of the religious war between Catholics and Protestants, the king of France, Henry III, created a new order of knights known as L'Ordre du Saint-Esprit, or the Order of the Holy Spirit. The mission of its members was to fight for Catholicism. To mark themselves as a member, the knights wore a Maltese cross hanging from a blue cord around their neck.

For two centuries membership in this order was considered a high honor and the wearing of the blue cord became a mark of considerable distinction. Eventually with the start of the French Revolution, the order was banished, replaced somewhat by La Légion d'honneur, which persists to this day as a distinction in France.

It is said that the members of the order, with blue ribbons hanging about their necks, would gather for fabulous feasts prepared by the finest chefs in the land. Eventually, with the abolition of the order, the blue ribbon came to be associated with the cooks rather than the knights themselves. The notion of a blue ribbon indicating the best of something has spread across the world.

In France, you will hear home cooks refer to themselves as a cordon bleu (or not as the case may be), meaning that they are an accomplished chef. You have probably heard of Le Cordon Bleu, which originated over a hundred years and is considered a top notch cooking school with branches around the globe.

Full credit is given to the following website: http://www.easy-french-food.com/index.html

With permission from Ms. Kim Steele.

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