Poulet Poêlé à l’Estragon

Julia and her colleagues describe this recipe as "a lovely method, as the buttery aromatic steam in the casserole gives the chicken great tenderness and flavor." Roasted chicken is one of the staples of a good cook and it is a centerpiece of French cooking. I have never cooked a whole chicken before - usually opting for the rotisserie chickens so readily available in the grocery stores these days. This recipe took a couple of hours and involved several steps but it was well worth the work. The current variation has the chicken stuffed with tarragon and roasted with more tarragon in the casserole dish.

The process began with "trussing" the chicken, or tying the legs and wings to the body for more even cooking and a tidy presentation. This process required the purchase of a long weaving needle and some string, so now I feel committed to using this technique again! MAFC gives detailed instructions with illustrations to show how to complete the two ties. One tie pierces the tail end and fastens the drumsticks while the second tie secures the wings "akimbo" to the body cavity and neck fat. Then, the daintily entwined bird gets a light browning on all sides in a large casserole dish. Here is my tied and browned bird.

You can see the trussing string woven in there.

Then the whole chicken went in the casserole on top of some lightly cooked carrots and onions with extra tarragon for good measure. The covered dish was baked for about an hour and 20 minutes as prescribed for this 3 pound bird. I basted it twice with the cooking juices to ensure maximum juiciness... and to catch a couple of good whiffs in the process. Once the bird finished cooking, I removed it from the pan and made light sauce with the cooking juices, beef stock, and corn starch in wine. The sauce was then strained to remove the aromatics and garnished with fresh tarragon leaves. I ended up snacking on the leftover carrots and onions from the pan as they had a hearty flavor - tasted just like Thanksgiving!

The recipe recommended whole broiled tomatoes tossed with parsley (tomates grillées au four) as a lovely accompaniment. The tomatoes were very easy and just required cutting out the stem, sprinkling the hole with salt and pepper, then brushing with olive oil and baking in a shallow, oiled dish for about 10 minutes. I've never been a huge fan of broiled tomatoes but these had just the right amount of seasoning to bring out their fresh juiciness. I think the key was to use firm tomatoes so their skins lightly cracked when they were done. Bonus - first recipe to call for olive oil instead of TONS of butter! 

 Finished chicken garnished with tomatoes

I also made a gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes) as recommended by the authors. The recipe is for a simple layering of potatoes, cheese, butter, and seasoning with boiling milk poured on top. I had never seen instructions to place the dish on the stove and bring the milk to a simmer before placing in the oven and I'm still not entirely sure the reasoning for this step. Then, it was placed in the oven for about 30 minutes until the milk was absorbed and the top was lightly browned. The dish made a strange spider-web looking cheese formation around the outside edge so I opted not to take a picture of the whole platter. Here is the final meal. 

My dear friends Michelle, Rachel, and Al joined me and brought wine and a fresh side salad to balance the meal. The wine aided in conversation about our families and the efforts to see those who live great distances away.  I'm so proud of these girls for finishing their first year in our graduate program and what they have accomplished already! We all agreed that all the food turn out well. I expected more of the tarragon flavor in the chicken, which was juicy and perfectly cooked, but the herb certainly shown through in the sauce. The potatoes had just the right amount of moisture and creaminess while still maintaining their firm texture. We ended the meal with some chocolate pound cake and ice cream I had left over. Overall, everything went well and there are not many revisions I would have made to the cooking process. I was very proud of my handiwork with the chicken and look forward to replicating this recipe in the future and trying some of the other variations in MAFC.  

On the photography end, I took many more pictures this week than previously, but many of them turned out rather blurry. While I have tried to steady my arms on secure surfaces, I do believe the next step will be to purchase a tripod if I am going to be serious about this endeavor. 

I'll be traveling next weekend and will be unable to do an entry. I'm hoping for a simple gathering the following week after I host another large party...