Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence - Julia Child - 50 Most Influential Women in Food

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Every Friday for the next 50 weeks, a small group of kindred spirit will be exploring recipes developed by the fifty most influential women in the food world. The women were selected by the online arm of Gourmet and, to no one's surprise, Julia Child appears at the top of the list. She is legend. Her books and cooking shows brought French cooking to the American kitchen and changed the way we prepare and think about the food we eat. I count myself among those whose cooking was forever changed by her influence. I found her program, The French Chef, in 1969 while flipping through television channels.We were living in Chicago at the time and I was caring for my baby girl who was born prematurely and had a host of medical problems that needed the kind of attention only a mother can provide. Needless to say, I didn't get out a lot. I was not a young mother and had worked for years. Julia helped me deal with a classic case of cabin fever and convinced me that, if I tried, I could cook as well as she did. I love a challenge, so rather than start with something simple like a soup, my first effort was her multi-step recipe for Beef Wellington. Using her instructions, I was able to duplicate the dish and my cooking took a quantum leap. My challenge became finding recipes that were economically feasible for family meals. Chicken was a logical place to start and I slowly worked my way through all of her recipes for it. In 1969 chicken was 33 cents a pound. If you were willing to joint the bird, it could be had for the outrageous sum of 29 cents a pound. I dissembled lots of chicken back then and one of my favorite recipes was Julia's, Poulet Saute aux Herbs de Provence. It sounds fancy, but, in reality, it was nothing more than chicken sauteed in a mix of butter and herbs. The TKO came at the end of cooking, when pan juices were used to make a Béarnaise-type sauce of such merit that some would salute la belle France with a rousing chorus of La Marseillaise on tasting it. This is one of my favorite "Julia" recipes. I know those of you who can see beyond the stick of butter will love it, too. Here's the recipe and the names of the other blogs that are saluting Julia Child this Friday. Bon Appetit!

More than Burnt Toast
Eats Well with Others
A Seasonal Cook in Turkey


Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence - Chicken Sauteed with Herbs and Garlic in an Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Julia Child

Ingredients:
1/4 pound butter
2-1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
Salt and pepper
3 cloves unpeeled garlic
2/3 cup dry white wine or 1/2 cup dry white vermouth
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry white wine or vermouth
2 tablespoons fresh minced basil, fennel fronds or parsley

Directions:
1 ) Heat butter in a large skillet until it is foaming. Add chicken pieces and saute for 7 to 8 minutes, turning often. Do not let chicken color more than a deep golden yellow. Season with herbs and salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook, uncovered, for another 20 to 25 minutes, turning 2 to 3 times, or until chicken is tender and juices run clear. Remove chicken to a warm platter and tent with foil to keep warm.
2) Mash garlic cloves with the back of a spoon. Remove peel. Add wine and boil down until reduced by half.
3) Beat egg yolks in a separate small saucepan until thick and sticky. Beat in lemon juice and wine with a whisk. Add liquid remaining in saute pan, a half teaspoon at a time, until a creamy mayonnaise sauce begins to form. Beat over very low heat until warm and thickened.. Remove from heat. Add finishing herbs and adjust to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.








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Inside Outside Ravioli - Pasta Nudi

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Italians call it pasta nudi, or naked ravioli. It's much easier to make than classic forms of the dish and some like it just as well. The ingredients are identical to those used to make a meat-filled ravioli, but the pillows are deconstructed and the filling appears outside, rather than inside, the pasta. If you are pressed for time, and most of us are these days, this dish will deliver the characteristic flavors of ravioli without the work associated with its construction. What is lost, however, is the lovely texture of the stuffed pasta. This recipe was developed by Mark Bittman for The New York Times. He uses a sage-infused brown butter to dress the pasta. While some members of my family love this dish, it is too rich for my palate and I eat only small quantities of pasta when it's prepared in this fashion. Since mine is a minority opinion, I've decided to post the recipe and let you judge for yourself. The meatballs, which are poached in water, can be made well ahead of time, so there is minimal last minute fuss required to bring this dish to the table. If you like meatballs and brown butter sauce, I suspect this dish will become a favorite of yours. Here's how it's made.

Inside Outside Ravioli - Pasta Nudi

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 large egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for garnish
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup very finely minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound fresh or dried pasta, any kind
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
20 fresh sage leaves

Directions:
1) Place meat, egg, cheese, parsley, onion, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix well but do not knead. Form into balls 1/2-inch in diameter. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
2) Cook meatballs in water for about 5 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Cook pasta in same water until tender but not mushy.
3) Meanwhile, in a medium pot cook butter and sage together until butter is light brown, about 5 minutes.
4) Before draining pasta, reserve a bit of its cooking water. Drain pasta, then toss it with butter-sage mixture and enough reserved water to make it saucy. Top with meatballs and serve, passing grated Parmesan at the table. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Butternut Squash Ravioli - Vegacious
Basil and Goat Cheese Ravioli - The Saucy Kitchen
Arugula and Goat Cheese Ravioli - The Red Spoon
Corn and Pesto Ravioli with Parmesan Butter Sauce - Inexpensive Eating
Ravioli Gnudi with Walnut Sauce - Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Red Pepper, Garlic and Herb Ravioli - Barbara Bakes
Asparagus, Pancetta and Ricotta Ravioli - Ladyberd's Kitchen