Cooking with Wine: Burgundy in a Box

Wine isn’t used just for drinking in France; it is used in cookery, including the famous braised-beef dish boeuf bourguignon. Marinating and cooking meat  in Burgundy wine makes it very tender, with a robust flavour.

In the U.S., you may wish to keep a five-litre box of Almaden Mountain Burgundy (available at Sam’s and elsewhere for between 12 and 15 USD) in the kitchen for cooking. This way, a whole bottle of Burgundy, which can be expensive, doesn’t need to be opened when you just wish to add a half-cup of it to your dish. The wine is protected in an air-free vessel  inside the box, and is always at-hand for occasional use in cookery. Wine on-tap on top of the refrigerator is a great boon to any creative home-cook. 

©M-J de Mesterton 2010

>Cooking with Wine: Burgundy in a Box

>

Wine isn’t used just for drinking in France; it is used in cookery, including the famous braised-beef dish boeuf bourguignon. Marinating and cooking meat  in Burgundy wine makes it very tender, with a robust flavour.

In the U.S., you may wish to keep a five-litre box of Almaden Mountain Burgundy (available at Sam’s and elsewhere for between 12 and 15 USD) in the kitchen for cooking. This way, a whole bottle of Burgundy, which can be expensive, doesn’t need to be opened when you just wish to add a half-cup of it to your dish. The wine is protected in an air-free vessel  inside the box, and is always at-hand for occasional use in cookery. Wine on-tap on top of the refrigerator is a great boon to any creative home-cook. 

©M-J de Mesterton 2010

M-J’s Original Sauce Ragú

Sautéed Vegetables for M-J’s Sauce Ragú

Bread rises at left of stove, using the warmth from sautéed vegetables.

Click to Enlarge

The Second Stage of Cooking M-J’s Sauce Ragôut Involves Incorporating Liquid Ingredients

Third Stage of Cooking: Simmering for Nine Hours Yields a Rich, Dark Meat Sauce

This mixture of ground beef, celery, capsicums, bacon, onion, tomatoes, garlic, spices, herbs and wine will cook for nine or ten hours on very low heat, and become a zesty, rich meat sauce ragôut or ragú. Ideally, after the initial sautéeing and mixing process, the elegant meat sauce ragôut would be put into a slow-cooker or Crock-Pot (by Rival).
Recipe and Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton

M-J’s Original Sauce Ragú

Sautéed Vegetables for M-J’s Sauce Ragú

Bread rises at left of stove, using the warmth from sautéed vegetables.

This mixture of ground beef, celery, capsicums, bacon, onion, tomatoes, garlic, spices, herbs and wine will cook for nine or ten hours on very low heat, and become a zesty, rich meat sauce ragout or ragú. Ideally, after the initial sautéeing and mixing process, the sauce would be put into a slow-cooker or Crock-Pot (by Rival).
Recipe and Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton

>M-J’s Original Sauce Ragú

>

Sautéed Vegetables for M-J’s Sauce Ragú

Bread rises at left of stove, using the warmth from sautéed vegetables.

Click to Enlarge

The Second Stage of Cooking M-J’s Sauce Ragôut Involves Incorporating Liquid Ingredients

Third Stage of Cooking: Simmering for Nine Hours Yields a Rich, Dark Meat Sauce

This mixture of ground beef, celery, capsicums, bacon, onion, tomatoes, garlic, spices, herbs and wine will cook for nine or ten hours on very low heat, and become a zesty, rich meat sauce ragôut or ragú. Ideally, after the initial sautéeing and mixing process, the sauce would be put into a slow-cooker or Crock-Pot (by Rival).
Recipe and Photo Copyright M-J de Mesterton

Making Elegant Poached Chicken

M-J’s Sauce Velouté Recipe for Elegant Chicken

Sauce Velouté for an Elegant Dinner Dish Made with Poached Chicken Breasts

M-J’s Sauce Velouté Recipe

Save the broth from poaching chicken breasts as shown in a previous post, and make elegant sauce velouté, a classic feature of French cuisine. For this recipe, I would prefer the chicken poaching liquid to contain just salt, white wine, water, and a spoonful of lemon juice.

Make a roux with about two tablespoons each of butter and flour. Stir it until light tan and bubbly.
Add about two cups of chicken broth or poaching liquid, stirring it in quickly.

Cook the ingredients until smooth.
When the sauce is very thick, slowly add a half-cup of cream and incorporate it well, cooking on low heat for another minute. I like to use bamboo tools, because they do not scratch my cookware.

Elegant Sauce Velouté, a French Classic with Many Applications

If you don’t plan to use it right away, it is perfectly acceptable to store your sauce velouté in a jar, and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Thaw the sauce slowly in a covered pan or pot, and add some white wine or champagne to taste. Cream may also be stirred-in until the sauce is at the consistency that you prefer. Dress your chicken in this elegant French sauce velouté. It is very good to have at hand for impromptu gatherings, together with some poached and sliced chicken breasts. These two ingredients guarantee you a quickly-prepared, elegant dinner party offering.
©M-J de Mesterton 2010

Poulet Velouté en Croute

Recipe Using Pepperidge Farm Puff-Pastry Shells
Poulet Velouté en Croute

A deep pan with a lid is ideal for this recipe. You will also need a baking sheet.

Three boxes of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells, twelve shells total (variation: use M-J’s biscuit dough and line a baking dish with it, top and bottom, filled with the prepared chicken velouté)
Six boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Two cups of white wine (leftover champagne is also suitable)
One cup of water
Four tablespoons of butter
One third cup of white flour
One teaspoon of herbes de Provence
Salt and white pepper to taste
One half cup of whipping cream
Two eggs beaten with two tablespoons of water, for brushing the pastry shells

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan. Add one cup of white wine or champagne and one cup of water, together with salt and white pepper. Poach chicken breasts in white wine and water mixture until they are fully cooked; about forty-five minutes. Remove chicken breasts from pan and let them cool to room temperature.

Sauce Velouté
In the same pan, melt three tablespoons of butter. With a wire whisk, stir in 1/3 cup of white flour. Let this brown and then add one cup of white wine, whisking continually to prevent lumps. Incorporate the cream, and stop cooking after the sauce has thickened. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Prepare the Puff Pastry Shells

Place 12 Pepperidge Farm puff pastry shells on baking sheets, and let thaw for twenty minutes.
Pre-heat your oven to 400* Fahrenheit.
Brush puff pastry shells with egg and water mixture.
Bake for twenty minutes or until golden brown.

Slice the cooled chicken breasts into thin scallops, and return the chicken to the pan where it will be mixed with the sauce velouté, and reheated briefly on the stove.

Remove Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells from oven. Lift top of each puff pastry shell and fill with poulet velouté. Replace top. Bake the filled puff pastry shells in a 400* oven for ten minutes.

Serve with petit pois and vinaigrette salad. Poulet Velouté en Croute made with Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells is an ideal dish for brunch, luncheon or dinner. This recipe provides two servings each for six people.

Recipe Copyright M-J de Mesterton December, 2008