Chicken Francaise

2 pounds boneless, skinless thin cut chicken cutlets
Kosher salt and pepper to season the meat
3 eggs scrambled and placed in a shallow dish
¾ cup flour (if you like you may also season the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper) place flour in a shallow bowl or breading dish
1 stick of butter
2-3 tablespoons oil
1 large shallot peeled and minced, (about 4 tablespoon of shallot, you may substitute onion if you don’t have shallot)
Chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons caper berries


Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the egg then into the flower to coat. Repeat with all of the cutlets. Set aside on a plate.

Heat 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan. Heat to medium high. (Alternately you may use clarified butter as I often do). Fry the cutlets for about 2 minutes per side or until golden and cooked through. Fry in batches adding another extra tablespoon or so of oil as necessary.

Once all of the cutlets have been cooked clean out the sauté pan. Place the clean pan back on the heat . Add in a dash of oil, just enough to coat the shallots. Add in the shallots and cook on low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add in chicken stock (1 cup) and white wine. Reduce over high heat for about 5 minutes.

While the stock is reducing combine remaining 4 tablespoons butter plus 4 tablespoons flour. Mush this together with your fingers to form a paste.

Once the stock has cooked 5 minutes add in the butter and flour paste to thicken the sauce. Whisk to combine. Add in the heavy cream and caper berries. If sauce is too thick for you, add in additional ½ cup or so of chicken stock to thin the sauce. Serve over the chicken cutlets.

Shopping

I’ve just finished my shopping. I always feel a bit sad after I’m done. There is always so much to choose from at this time of the year. My refrigerator now looks like the produce section. Every time I open it a bottle of ketchup falls out because there is no room for it to fit inside. I throw it back in and close the door quickly, knowing full well that there will be another ketchup victim later. It tends to land on your bare feet when it falls from the fridge.

Tomorrow is Saturday night dinner. Often this is a dinner, which is a bit more fancy than the usual weeknight meals. It may mean a special trip to the butcher or fishmonger. This week that dinner is Nicoise salad. I plan to use fresh grilled tuna rather than canned, as is typical in France. Often this classic salad includes radish, leafy greens, olives, and French green beans.

For the week I plan to post a chicken dish.

I found an old copy of Julia Child, The French Chef Cookbook. That has become my reading for the week. I want, at some point, to tackle Bouillabaisse. The first time I had fish stew was in Italy; actually they call it Zuppa di Pesce, similar in nature but served with pasta. It was one of the best things I ever ate. Back in the states I tried to find recipes to duplicate the dish. Apparently, Bouillabaisse can only be made in the Mediterranean because of the type of fish found there. Often, here it is called Mediterranean fish stew to avoid getting caught in a heated discussion of what makes up a proper bouillabaisse.
Whatever you call it its delicious; I’ll let you know how it goes.

Boston Baked Beans

You might think, “baked beans, what’s the big deal?” but have you ever made Baked Beans them from scratch? The aromas fill the house all day while they simmer away. Totally easy – throw everything in the pot and let them cook themselves. All the ingredients straight from the regular grocery store!

1 pound navy beans, soaked overnight
1 Red onion, diced
12 oz salt pork, tough outer rind removed and discarded- cut remaining pork into lardons (thin strips) or dice
8 oz ham steak, outer casing removed and diced into bite size pieces
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Molasses
½ cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dry ground mustard (found in grocery stores with the spices)

Drain the beans of the soaking liquid. Place the beans in a slow cooker/crock pot. Cover the beans with fresh water (about 1 quart or enough to cover the beans by an inch or so). Place all of the remaining ingredients in the pot and stir to combine. Turn the heat to high and let beans cook for about 5 hours. Turn the beans to low and cook for another hour or more if you like. Serve with hot dogs.

Hungry Hill cooking

I posted the cake, look this week for the baked beans...

Hungry Hill

We were sitting around chatting about summer reading and a remark was made. It went something like “In order to write a memoir you must be from an alcoholic family or poor, if you had a normal upbringing forget it”. Well, I just finished reading Hungry Hill by Carole O’Malley Gaunt, and she was both.

I spent my share of time on Hungry Hill. My mom’s family was from the Irish section of Springfield, Mass. as well. In fact, I recognized the picture of Carol on the front cover of the book because she was a bride’s maid in my moms wedding and I have seen her picture in wedding photos around the house.

Carols story is a page-turner. When Carol is thirteen years of age her mom dies of cancer and Carol is left will all of the responsibility of raising her brothers. Her dad, grief struck, turns to alcohol.

Hungry Hill is an entirely different memory for me. I spent my days there as a young child while my mom worked. My Grandparents took wonderful care of me. Though my grandparents were far from rich, my grandma made wonderful meals for me. She loved Julia Child. My Grandfather hand a very small but beautiful garden in the yard from which he would always cut fresh flowers for the kitchen table. There were concord grapes growing on a trellis and the smell was delicious when they ripened. Saturdays were always baking days and the tins were filled with oatmeal cookies and banana and Irish soda breads.

As I mentioned my grandparents weren’t wealthy, so may parents were always shocked when they would pick me up at the end of the day and hear that my Grandma had fed me lamb chops for lunch. Everyone should be so lucky.

One thing served both in Carol’s family and in my moms, was baked beans. This was a traditional Saturday night dinner served with hot dogs. My mom suggested it was light work for the cook to prepare, allowing extra energy to be saved for the traditional Sunday roast dinner the following day. If you have a sweet tooth then a slice Mrs. Metzger style chocolate cake will complete the meal.

Chocolate frosting

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
6 oz chocolate melted (I am using dark)
1 ¼ cups corn syrup
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon espresso powder
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
1 cup Dutch process cocoa


Place the butter and chocolate in a microwave proof bowl. Heat in microwave for 3-4 minutes on medium power. Stir to combine then place in stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

In a saucepan in medium high heat combine corn syrup, cream, sugar, espresso powder grand Marnier, and cocoa. Whisk for 2 minutes on med high heat to combine. Pour into stand mixer.

Blend the ingredients on high speed for about three minutes, (fitted with whisk attachment) to combine. Allow mixture to cool for an hour – it should come to room temperature. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for a few hours until it thickens enough to spread on cake. Will make enough for a double layer cake.

Chocolate cake for a double layer cake

Butter and flour for pans
3 cups flour
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 cup Dutch process cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
¾ cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting of your choice

Preheat oven to 350

Butter and flour 2- 9” round cake pans – use parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pan if you feel more comfortable just make sure to butter and flour it also…

Sift together all of the dry ingredients.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the cream, canola oil, water, eggs, and vanilla. On low speed slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Divide between 2 cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. Ice with your favorite frosting.