Ingredients:
8 chicken breasts
Flour for dredging
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup dry white wine (Chablis)
1/2 cup sweet Marsala
How to do it:
Remove the skin from the chicken breasts. Pound the breasts thin between two pieces of plastic. Dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Allow to rest.
In a large frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in a small amount of olive oil. Sauté only until the onions are translucent, not browned. Remove from the pan and deglaze the pad with the white wine. Pour the white wine over the onions and garlic.
Rinse the pan and reheat it. Add more olive oil and sauté the chicken, a few at a time. Cook them on each side until they begin to brown, then remove them to a warm plate while sautéing the remaining chicken breasts. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and deglaze with the Marsala. Allow the wine to reduce then pour the sauce over the chicken.
Serve immediately.
Note: Do not use the “cooking wines” at the grocery store. They are loaded with sodium as a preservative and you will not be happy with the results.
Yield:
6-8 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon
2 cups white wine vinegar
How to do it:
Place the herbs in a clean sterile jar and use a spoon to bruise them. Pour the vinegar over the tarragon and cover the jar tightly. Place the jar in a dark place at room temperature and allow the tarragon to steep in the vinegar. Shake the jar every few days and taste the vinegar after a week. If the flavor is not strong enough, allow to steep for another 1-3 weeks, checking the flavor weekly. When the flavor is to your liking, strain the vinegar into a different sterilized jar and cap tightly.
Ingredients:
3 sticks lightly salted butter
1/2 cup tarragon wine vinegar
1/2 cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons finely minced green onions
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon or 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons dried chervil
10 cracked peppercorns
7 egg yolks
3 teaspoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped chives (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
6 thin slices butter, room temperature
How to do it:
In a saucepan, melt butter, clarify and set aside. In a separate saucepan, combine vinegar, vermouth, green onions, parsley, tarragon, chervil, and peppercorns. Over high heat, reduce this liquid until it barely covers the bottom of the pan. Cool the mixture by setting the pan in cold water before adding the eggs. In a heavy saucepan, not over heat, place egg yolks, water and cooled reduced vinegar mixture, beating with a wire whisk until frothy, approximately 3-5 minutes. Place over low heat and continue beating vigorously several minutes longer. The pan should be removed from the heat often during this process to ensure slow cooking. Beat constantly until it is the consistency of a thick cream sauce.
Remove the pan from the fire, and while continuing to beat, slowly add clarified butter to the mixture a tablespoon at a time until all the butter is used. Add salt, parsley or chives, while beating in well. If mixture curdles, add 1 tablespoon cold water and beat vigorously. To prevent scum from forming on the top, cover the sauce with 6 thin slices of butter and place on top of the stove near the pilot light or place in a double boiler over lukewarm water. You may add a tablespoon of warm water and beat again before serving.
Yield: 2 cups
Béarnaise Sauce is very rich sauce that can be served on chicken, seafood, veal, beef or pork. It’s also excellent on eggs.
Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter
6 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons white wine
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
How to do it:
Melt the butter and margarine in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat. Increase the heat and bring to a rapid boil. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Skim the froth from the top of the butter and discard. Pour the butter into a large glass measuring cup and set aside.
In a separate 1-quart saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons of the wine, the tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook over high heat until most of the liquid had evaporated, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 5 minutes.
In a medium size stainless steel mixing bowl, combine the remaining 2 teaspoons wine, the cooled tarragon mixture, and the remaining ingredients except the butter. Mix together with a metal whisk until frothy, about 1 minutes.
Place the bowl over a pan of slowly simmering (NOT boiling) water. Do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Vigorously whisk the egg mixture, picking up the bowl frequently to let steam escape. Whip until the egg mixture is very light and creamy and has a sheen, about 5 to 7 minutes. This beating allows the cooked egg to hold the butter. Remove the bowl from the pan of hot water. Gradually ladle about 1/4 cup of the butter mixture (use the top butterfat, not the solids from the bottom) into the egg mixture while vigorously whipping the sauce. Make sure the butter is well mixed into the sauce before adding more. Continue gradually adding the butterfat until you’ve added about 1 cup.
Ladle out and reserve about 1/2 cup of the surface butterfat in a separate container to expose the butter solids. The butter solids will add flavor and thin the sauce. Gradually ladle all but 1/3 cup of the butter solids into the sauce, whisking well. Then gradually whisk enough of the reserved top butterfat to produce a thick sauce. The butterfat thickens the sauce, so you may not need to use all of it. Keep the sauce in a warm place until ready to serve.
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh picked-over strawberries, raspberries or other berries
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups cognac
2 cups Madeira wine
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
Seasonal fruits
Sugar
How to do it:
Add the berries to a saucepan and crush them. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and a syrup forms. Strain and discard the pulp. Add the strained syrup to a clean, sterilized crock with a 16 to 20 cup capacity.
Add the cognac, Madeira and spices. The brandy mixture is now ready for fruits to be added as they appear in season. Fruits might include peaches, pears, grapes, cherries, berries and so on. The fruits should have the stems removed, but leave the pits and skin intact. Each time a quantity of fruits or berries is added, measure them and add an equal quantity of sugar. Stir gently until sugar is dissolved. The fruits should at all times be submerged in the brandying liquid. The crock should be kept lightly covered and stored in a cool dark place for at least six months before using. Some of the fruits will float temporarily, but at they age, they will sink.
Yields 10 to 19 cups, depending on the quantities added.