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

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M-J’s Golden Potatoes

High Praise for the Lowly Potato

Potatoes: the much-maligned tubers aren’t guilty of fattening us. The added fats in potato-preparation are the culprits. Spuds contain a “resistant starch” that aids in burning body-fat. This humble vegetable that grows low on the ground is high in nutrients. 

A potato supplies more potassium per ounce than a banana. Potassium helps to regulate blood-pressure and blood-sugar. Potatoes also contain vitamin C, B-6 and about 60 anti-oxidants.

M-J’s Recipe for Golden Brown Potatoes

M-J's Golden Potatoes

Peel and cut into quarters or eighths, as many potatoes as you think you need for dinner. The cut potatoes should resemble chunks or nuggets. One potato per person is a safe bet; the leftovers can be re-heated and eaten the next day.

Boil water in a pot, with saffron, salt and/or chicken bouillon to your taste. Add the potato chunks and boil them for twenty minutes. For a more orange appearance, some paprika may also be added. Drain potatoes and then sauté them in butter or the fat of your choice until brown. Alternatively, you may coat the potatoes in melted butter and salt, then bake them on a cookie sheet until brown. A good way to evenly distribute the coating is to put the potatoes, oil and seasoning in a Zip-Lock bag and shake gently, being careful not to break the potato chunks.
Baked or sautéed, these potatoes are soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside.
~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008

Elegant, Economical British Dishes Presented by Elaine Lemm on Video

Delicious, Economical British Classics Presented by Elaine Lemm

Here are three classic British recipes presented in video form by Elaine Lemm on about.com: the Cornish Pasty (a favorite in my family for four generations, which I made for English-Speaking Union parties at my house many times); Bakewell Tart (invented in Bakewell, England), an elegant dessert, the taste of which  reminds me of Danish pastry; and Irish Colcannon–a vitamin-rich, green-and-white dish that could serve as an economical meal, which contains three vegetables.

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

Elegant Roast: Tri-Tip Beef

I’ve never had a tough piece of tri-tip beef, whether it’s steak or a loin roast.
I’ll be writing a recipe for this reliable cut of beef in a couple of days. Stay tuned to Elegant Cuisine!

Tri-Tip Roast with Chunky Mirepoix, Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2008

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Tri-Tip Pot Roast with Chunky Mirepois

Marinate a tri-tip roast in a little bit of red port wine, Worcestershire sauce, coarsely ground black pepper, seasoning salt, and a little bit of your favorite oil; olive, peanut or corn oil. After a few hours, dry the roast and reserve the remaining marinade for sauce. Dust the meat with salt and pepper. This absorbs the external moisture to help in searing the roast. In a Dutch Oven, or a big, heavy pot, melt a half-stick of butter on high heat, when the butter begins to brown, lower the meat into the pot. Brown it on all sides, Add coarsely chopped onion, celery, carrots (miniature peeled carrots are perfect for this dish), and some quartered potatoes. Stir these vegetables in the pot around the roast, cooking them  until their edges are brown, and then add one or two cups of beef broth (depending upon the size of your roast)  mixed with the marinade. Stir the vegetables again, let the liquid come to a boil, then lower the heat to simmering and and cover the pot. Cook to your desired degree. I cook mine about one hour, because we like it well-done. For company, you may want to cook it medium-well, leaving the middle pink. Remove the meat and vegetables. I make gravy from what is remaining in the pot. After the meat has cooled a bit, I slice it very thinly with a very sharp Japanese ceramic knife. You can put the sliced beef on a platter, on top of a shallow pool of the gravy. Trim the beef by placing vegetables around it. If you have a warming tray, set your platter on it to keep the dish warm. Alternatively, you may arrange the meat and vegetables in a buffet-handled pan and reheat on the stove just before serving.