In French, diable
means “devil,” but I’ve also heard that à
la diable means “any which way.” Regardless, this dish was devilishly good.
The recipe calls for a small chicken quartered. The chicken ended up in four
pieces, but one future goal of mine is to discover a more graceful way of
dismembering a whole chicken… The chicken pieces were first broiled and basted
with butter for ten minutes on each side. Then, a lovely slathering of a
mustard dip comprised of Dijon, shallots, herbs, pepper, and the basting fat
was applied to each side of the chicken and the pieces were rolled in bread
crumbs. The recipe calls for fresh bread crumbs, but I’m always looking for
ways to using my left over matzo meal from Passover. I was afraid that the
stale matzo crumbs (or maybe they just tasted stale because it is matzo – it’s
often hard to tell) would dry the chicken, but this was absolutely not the
case. Another 20 minutes under a low broil and basting every few minutes, and
the chicken was finished. Compared to the whole roasted chicken I prepared a
few weeks ago, this recipe was very easy and efficient. The meat was incredibly
juicy and tender and the extra mustard made an excellent dipping sauce. Julia
and the other authors of MAFC emphasize
that this dish is flexible as it can be prepared ahead of time or eaten cold.
 |
| Poulets Grillés à la Diable |
I only spent about three hours in Nice one time between
trains on the way to Italy, so I have no idea what a true salad in Nice is
like. I’ve had Salade Niçoise once or twice in the U.S. and love this chunky
alternative to most American salads. In theory, it looks like a simple dish
with large pieces of a few vegetables, some tuna, and olives strewn atop, but
there are several steps and cooking techniques used in this preparation so it
took some time. The recipe from MAFC
calls for boiled potatoes which are sliced and layered at the bottom of the
serving dish and drizzled with a vermouth and stock mixture until the liquid is
absorbed. Then the potatoes are seasoned with a vinegar, mustard, and oil dressing
and topped with parsley. The potato dish at this point constitutes Julia’s
Pommes de Terre à l’Huile (French potato salad). The Niçoise salad requires the
arrangement of Boston lettuce leaves around the outside of the bowl and following
on top of the potatoes: blanched green beans, large slices of tomatoes, and two
boiled eggs quartered. The recipe gains its Mediterranean flair with chunks of
canned tuna, olives (I used kalamata olives), and anchovies. I knew my guests
were not terribly fond of anchovies so those were served on the side. Finally,
the whole salad got another sprinkle of vinaigrette with herbs (I had some fresh
basil from my garden). The resulting salad is heaping and attractive with many
layers and colors. While there are a number of steps that go into this salad,
the most difficult part was trying to serve it from the bowl without completely
falling apart! As an avid salad eater, this is absolutely a dish I will make
again in the future.
 |
| The potatoes are at the bottom I promise! |
 |
| You can see the anchovies on the salad and mustard sauce at the back. |
While the chicken and salad were excellent, the real tour de force for this week was the
Mousseline au Chocolat. A number of years ago, I had dinner at with a friend at
his grandmother’s house and she made chocolate mousse served from martini
glasses. I thought this was such a classy and creative idea that I have wanted
to try it ever since. Because the recipe calls for refrigeration for several
hours, I made the dish the night before, which was a good idea because it was quite
a process. The most difficult aspect of this dish was that I did not have the
correct kitchen equipment for some of the steps and had to improvise a bit. For
instance, metal bowls would have been preferable for melting the chocolate and
heating the egg yolks, but I had to substitute glass and a large ceramic bowl
for a few steps.
Equipment aside, first egg yolks, sugar, and orange liqueur
are beaten together until pale yellow and thickened. I then continued to beat
the eggs over a pan of simmering water until it becomes foamy and hot. Then, it
is beaten over cold water until it is cooled and thickened to mayonnaise
consistency. Next, the recipe calls for semi-sweet baking chocolate to be
melted with a few table spoons of coffee over a double boiler. The authors call
for a stick and half of butter to be melted with the chocolate, but I made the
decision to use a third of the recommended amount and the final product was
still perfectly rich and creamy. As a side note, I love how shiny chocolate
becomes with the addition of butter! After the chocolate is mixed with the egg
yolks, the third step is to beat together egg whites and sugar until stiff
peaks are formed. The whites are then gently folded into the rest of the batter
to create the fluffy mousse consistency. I also love the light squishing sound
that egg yolks make when they are folded! Finally, I plated the mousse into
martini glasses and refrigerated overnight. To serve, I beat some whipped cream
with a dash of vanilla extract and placed a dollop on each dessert.
My friends Rachel and Jaime joined me for this meal. Rachel
brought strawberries which were a lovely accompaniment to the mousse (see
below). We decided that the mousse was extraordinary and perhaps better than
many other pleasures. Each of these dishes
was fabulous individually and will definitely make reappearances in my kitchen
in the future.
In regards to the photography, an earlier dinner was conducive to more natural light, but I still think I need to invest in a tripod. I've decided that of the food I've made so far chicken is the most difficult to photograph and make it look attractive. Something about brown lumps that just don't show up well in pictures.
Be prepared for more poultry next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment