We live in a time that contrasts vividly with the home-cooking customs of 20 years ago. Then we thought little of creating a recipe for a dish that we had dined on aboard the S.S. France, specifically a chartreuse of partridge. As prepared in the kitchen of that elegant vessel, it was sublime.
I recently glanced at the recipe and noted that it was made with 24 ingredients, including a rich chicken base that demanded three hours of advance cooking time. (The chartreuse was originally a vegetarian dish created a few centuries ago by Carthusian monks at their convent, La Grande Chartreuse, near Grenoble, France. The same monks also invented the liqueur.) The chartreuse served aboard the France demanded a dozen or so sculptured vegetables. A partridge was roasted and an elaborate filling made with the cooked partridge, plus sausages, pieces of cooked salt pork and cabbage.
We live today in an age of efficiency, when even the most dedicated home cooks have little desire to spend two to three hours preparing sauces and so on. Yet most dedicated cooks express little desire to diminish their elegance in food at the table, though they may wish to spend a minimum of time at the stove.
We are often asked for main-course recipes that can be served on what might be called ”champagne occasions,” dishes with class that do not demand tedious outlays of time in the kitchen. To that end, we have created the three dishes that appear here.
Each dish would go admirably with buttered wild rice and a vegetable such as asparagus or braised endive.
STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH CHAMPAGNE SAUCE
Four servings
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves with main wing bone left attached (see note), about 1/2 pound each
1 pound chicken bones
2 cups of fresh or canned chicken broth
6 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 egg white
1 cup whipping cream
12 blanched pistachio nuts, each cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup brut champagne
1 tablespoon butter
1. When the chicken breast halves are prepared, save (or have the butcher save) the bones. Place the halves skinned-side down on a flat surface and pound lightly with a flat mallet to make them somewhat flatter.
2. Place the bones in a saucepan and add the chicken broth. Cook 20 minutes. Strain, discarding the bones. Reserve 1/2 cup of broth. Put the remaining broth to another use, such as soup.
3. Meanwhile, put the cubed boneless breast of chicken into the container of a food processor or electric blender and add the nutmeg, cayenne, salt, pepper and egg white. Start processing while gradually adding 1/4 cup of the cream.
4. Scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl and add the pistachios.
5. Sprinkle the flattened breast halves with salt and pepper. Spoon an equal portion of the pureed mixture into the center of each breast half.
6. Place four rectangles or squares of clear plastic wrap on a flat surface. Transfer a chicken breast half to the center of each piece of plastic wrap. Carefully and compactly fold over the sides of the chicken breasts to neatly enclose the fillings. Fold over the sides of the plastic wrap to enclose the stuffed chicken breasts.
7. Place the packets, seam side down, in a skillet or casserole large enough to hold them in one layer. Sprinkle the shallots between the packets and pour the reserved 1/2 cup chicken broth and the champagne over all. Cover closely and heat to a boil.
8. Simmer about 5 minutes and turn the packets. Continue cooking about 5 minutes.
9. Transfer the packets to a serving dish. Unfold the plastic wrap and remove the stuffed chicken pieces. Discard the plastic wrap. Cook the sauce in the skillet or casserole over relatively high heat. Add any liquid that accumulates around the chicken pieces. Cook the sauce until it is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of cream and heat to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1 cup. Line a small bowl with a sieve and strain the sauce, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible from the solids. Return the sauce to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Swirl in the butter. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.
Note: If desired, you may prepare this recipe with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, available in many supermarkets, without the main wing bone attached. It is more ”classic,” however, to have the main wing bone left attached.
MEDALLIONS OF VEAL WITH WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE
Four servings
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
Standing time: 30 minutes
1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms, such as morels or c`epes
1 1/2 pounds boneless loin of veal
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh or canned chicken broth
1. Put the dried mushrooms in a mixing bowl and add warm water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes or longer, until softened. Drain and press to extract most of the excess liquid.
2. If there is a thin membrane on top of the meat, carefully pare it away with a sharp knife and discard. Cut the meat crosswise into eight portions of equal size. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the pieces of veal in one layer. Add the veal and cook about 2 minutes on one side, or until nicely browned. Turn and cook on the second side about 2 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet and add 1 tablespoon of the shallots and the mushrooms. Cook quickly, stirring, and add 1 tablespoon of the cream. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the mushrooms in their sauce to a warm serving platter and arrange the pieces of veal over the mushrooms.
6. Pour off any fat from the skillet in which the veal cooked.
7. To the skillet in which the veal cooked, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of shallots and the wine. Cook until the wine is reduced almost by half. Add the broth and cook until reduced by half. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream. Heat to a boil and strain it, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible from the solids. Spoon the strained sauce over the veal and serve immediately.
FILET OF BEEF WITH MARROW AND MADEIRA WINE SAUCE
Four servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Soaking time: Overnight
4 filets mignon, about 2 pounds total weight
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon corn, peanut or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup madeira wine
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh or canned beef broth
2 ounces marrow from beef marrow bones (see note)
Parsley sprigs for garnish
1. Sprinkle the filets with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and add the filets. Cook over moderately high heat about 4 minutes, or until well browned on one side. Turn the pieces and continue cooking, turning the pieces on their sides so that they brown evenly on top, bottom and sides, about 5 minutes. The total cooking time is 10 minutes for rare meat.
3. Transfer the filets to a warm platter and pour off any oil from the skillet. Add the butter and shallots to the skillet. Cook briefly, stirring, and add the wine. Cook until reduced by half.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir to dissolve it. Add the broth and cook about 4 minutes. Add any liquid that accumulates around the filets. Line a small bowl with a sieve and pour the sauce into it, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible from the solids. There should be about 1/4 cup. Return the sauce to a saucepan.
5. Meanwhile, drain the marrow and cut it crosswise into 8 to 12 pieces. Drop the pieces into hot water (it must not simmer and the pieces must not cook; they must be heated through or they will melt). When the pieces are heated through, drain them.
6. Top each filet with two or three pieces of marrow and spoon the sauce over all. Garnish the top of each filet with a small sprig of parsley. Serve. Note: Have the butcher crack the marrow bones as neatly and evenly as possible to remove the marrow. Put the marrow into a bowl and add cold water to cover. Let stand until ready to cook. Ideally, the marrow should be soaked overnight in the refrigerator.
