Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (111 page)

Rearrange chicken attractively with vegetables, either in the same casserole or in a serving bowl or dish that will just hold the pieces. Pour on the cooking stock and chill several hours, or until gelatin has set; scrape any congealed fat from surface, and chicken is ready to serve.

Molded aspic

You may wish to unmold the chicken onto a platter rather than serve it from a bowl or casserole. Use the same method as in the preceding recipe, but you may need more jellied stock—proportions are 1 envelope (1 tablespoon) gelatin for each 2 cups of stock. Use a decorative metal mold, a metal cake pan, or even a bread pan; pour in a ⅛-inch layer of jellied stock and chill until set. Then arrange the chicken and vegetables attractively in the mold or pan, and chill 20 minutes, or until remaining stock is cold, almost syrupy, and on the point of setting; immediately pour it over the chicken. Chill several hours or overnight to set the gelatin completely. To unmold, first scrape off any surface fat, then dip mold or pan for 4 to 5 seconds in very hot water, rapidly run a knife around edge of aspic, turn a chilled platter upside down over mold, and reverse the two. If aspic does not dislodge itself in a minute or two, repeat the process. Keep chilled until serving time, then decorate platter with lettuce, watercress, parsley, or appropriate vegetables.

NOTE:
A more formal method for lining a mold with aspic is in Volume I, page 558, but would only be necessary if you were using clarified jellied stock.

Poulet Mornay, Gratiné

[Poached Chicken Pieces Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce]

When you want a casserole of chicken that you may prepare ahead for a party, this is a useful dish. After the chicken has poached, the cooking liquid
is turned into a cheese sauce, which then enrobes the chicken in a baking dish; reheat and brown in the oven when the time comes. Serve this with steamed rice or buttered pasta, and either a simply done green vegetable such as buttered broccoli, peas, or asparagus tips, or a salad. White Burgundy wine would be good here, or a red Bordeaux.

Follow method and ingredients for chicken poached in white wine,
Master Recipe, Steps 1 and 2
. When chicken is done proceed as follows.

The cheese sauce—sauce Mornay—for 2½ cups

A sieve set over a saucepan

3½ Tb butter

A heavy-bottomed 2-quart enameled, no-stick, or stainless saucepan

¼ cup flour (measure by scooping dry-measure cup into flour and sweeping off excess with a knife)

A wooden spoon and a wire whip

Set cover askew and drain cooking liquid out of casserole. Skim off surface fat, and bring liquid to simmer, skimming. You should have about 2½ cups; boil down rapidly, if necessary. Meanwhile, make a white
roux
and a
velouté
sauce as follows: melt butter in saucepan, blend in flour, and stir over moderate heat with a wooden spoon until flour and butter foam together for 2 minutes without browning. Remove from heat, and as soon as
roux
stops bubbling, pour in all of the hot chicken-cooking liquid at once, blending vigorously with a wire whip.

Return sauce over moderately high heat, and stir with wire whip as sauce thickens and comes to the boil. Boil, stirring, for 2 minutes, and remove from heat. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon nicely; if too thin, boil down rapidly and if too thick, thin with milk, stock, or cream. Let cool for several minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent top from crusting while you prepare for the next step.

Final assembly

A buttered
gratin
dish that will hold the chicken comfortably (such as a 9- by 12-inch oval 2 inches deep)

About 3 ounces (¾ cup loosely packed) coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Salt and pepper

Speck of nutmeg

1 to 2 Tb melted butter

When you have buttered the dish, and grated and measured the cheese, fold all but 3 to 4 tablespoons of the cheese into the sauce. Taste, and correct seasoning as necessary with salt, pepper, and a speck of nutmeg. Smooth a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish, and arrange the chicken over it, including the vegetables, if you wish.

Spoon the rest of the sauce over the chicken, masking each piece completely. Spread on the cheese, and sprinkle melted butter over the cheese.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be prepared a day in advance to this point; when cold, cover and refrigerate.

Reheating and serving

When both chicken and sauce are hot, and you are serving almost immediately, set dish 3 or 4 inches from a moderately hot broiler and let topping brown slowly while contents of dish come to the bubble; you may then keep chicken warm for half an hour or so at 120 degrees, but be very careful not to let it overcook and lose the delicious quality of freshly cooked chicken.

When chicken has been refrigerated, set dish in upper third of a preheated 375-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top has browned nicely and contents are bubbling hot. Again, be careful not to overcook.

Chaud-froid de Poulet, Morvandelle

[Chicken in
Chaud-froid
—a Cold Dish]

A simple chicken poached in white wine with aromatic vegetables can very easily be transformed into a dressy
chaud-froid
when you enrich the poaching broth with cream and egg yolks, which will thicken the broth just enough as it cools to enrobe the chicken pieces with a yellow-ivory cloak. Light, creamy, with a lovely texture and flavor, yet no trace of flour or gelatin, this is by far the most attractive
chaud-froid
we know. Serve it with cold vegetables or a tossed salad, French bread, and a chilled Chablis, Riesling, or Gewürtztraminer.