Bouillabaisse de Poulet - Away A While Recipe Favorites

Bouillabaisse de Poulet

French Chicken Stew

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Fall is wonderful in its abundance. In a scant few weeks prices will again begin to rise, but for now, the fruits and vegetables with which I love to cook are affordable and encourage generosity in the kitchen. Once our first rains fall, I put away the recipes of summer and replace them with those that speak to cooler weather. It's time for robust soups and stews and casseroles. It is especially time for bouillabaisse. Most of us think of bouillabaisse as a heady Mediterranean stew that's made with fish and served with grilled bread and thickened with rouille, a red pepper mayonnaise. Julia Child and Patricia Wells both take the elements of that classic bouillabaise, but replace the fish with chicken and make what they call a "bouillabaisse de poulet." The results are delicious, perfect for family and friends who enjoy checkered tablecloth fare. The dish should be assembled a full 24 hours before serving. It takes that long for the flavors of the Pernod and fennel to permeate the chicken. The good news is that all the work is done the day before the dish is cooked and you really are free to enjoy the company of your family and friends. Like many old French recipes, this one, designated peasant fare, requires the purse of a prince to assemble. Pernod, fennel bulbs and saffron come dear, but they are absolutely necessary for the success of this dish. For what it's worth, this is one of my ten favorite meals. If you decide to make this, your mindset must be "in for a penny, in for a pound." You will not regret it. You can find the recipe, here. Bon appetit!

                    

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Portuguese Clam Chowder

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This hearty chowder is easy to make but it is expensive to prepare. That being said, if you can afford it, this is one-pot cooking at its finest and I make it a point to serve it at least once each summer. The chowder is traditionally made with salt cod, though any firm fresh fish can be substituted if you don't want to be bothered with soaking the salted variety. While I have my clams shucked at the fish market, the job can be easily done at home if you put the clams in the freezer and chill them until their hinge muscles relax. If you happen to have a fennel bulb in your fridge, by all means slice and cook it along with the onions. It makes a wonderful addition to the chowder. Another addition, not included in the recipe, is a cup or two of small shrimp or bay scallops. Because I serve this so infrequently, I tend to go all out when I make it and my chowder is light on potatoes and heavy on seafood. I like to serve it with a green salad and crusty bread and I've found the combination to be substantial enough to serve for guests. Here is how it is made.

Portuguese Clam Chowder...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspiredby Emeril LaGasse

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 8 ounces linguica, chopped
1 cup chopped onions
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 dozen cherrystone clams, shucked, in their liquid
1/2 pound fresh cod or salt cod, soaked, rinsed and diced
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pan. When oil shimmers, add linguica and cook until it begins to render fat, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions and celery and continue to cook until vegetables wilt, about 3 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tomatoes and garlic, saute for 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes, reserved clam liquid and salt cod. Add chicken stock and white wine. Season with salt and pepper. Bring liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add clams and parsley, cover, and continue simmering for 3 minutes. Ladle the chowder in a shallow bowl. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

If you have enjoyed your visit here, I hope you'll take a minute to...

      

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Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...An unexpected flush of small field strawberries and a photo I had seen on the Huffington Post led to the dessert I'm featuring tonight. I was able to trace the origins of the dish back to an old issue of Food and Wine magazine and a recipe that had been developed for them by Gerald Craft. I love old-fashioned desserts and this one harkened back to the English crumbs and crumbles that I so enjoy. There was, however, a twist. The base of the dessert was a quantity of stewed berries, three pounds worth. The berries were covered with cake batter and topped with a layer of crumbs. I was curious to see if stewed berries retained enough flavor to compete with the other elements that topped them. This is why we test, and this is why the success or failure of a recipe depends on individual taste as well as the developers vision. Some will love this, others will view it as a curiosity and move on to other things. I am in the later camp. While the fault may be found in the way I handled them, I don't think the stewed berries added much, save expense, to this dessert and I will not be making it again. Mine, by the way is a minority opinion, so, please don't be put off by my comments. Here's the recipe for those of you who would like to try it in your own kitchen. Be sure to serve this warm.

Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by a Gerald Craft recipe from Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:

Filling

3 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved (8 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2-1/2 tablespoons of water
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
generous pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

Cake

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:
1) To make filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch slurry and vanilla seeds and let stand until berries release some of their juices, about 30 minutes. Pour fruit filling into a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish set on a sturdy baking sheet.
2) To make crumb topping: Combine light brown sugar, flour, butter and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Mix ingredients, using fingers, until a coarse meal forms. Press into small clumps.
3) To make cake: Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. In a separate large bowl, use a handheld electric mixer and beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Beat in extract, scraping down sides of bowl. Add dry ingredients to batter in three additions alternating with buttermilk.
4) To finish: Spoon batter over fruit filling, spreading it to edges of pan. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake in center of oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling, crumb topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer pan to a rack to cool slightly. Serve crumb cake warm or at room temperature. Yield: 8 servings.

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