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Big Black Dog: Whisk Wednesdays -- Coquelets sur Canapes and Pommes Pont Neuf

August 17, 2009

Whisk Wednesdays -- Coquelets sur Canapes and Pommes Pont Neuf


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This week for Whisk Wednesdays we made Coquelets sur Canapes and Pommes Pont Neuf or Roast Squab with Chicken Liver Canapes and Mushrooms and Thick-cut French Fries. This was quite a long, involved recipe but really not difficult at all. And the end result was a juicy chicken breast with a delicious thin brown sauce on fabulous canapes.






It's so ironic that this weeks recipe is from Julia Child and the movie Julie & Julia just opened last week! I was looking forward to this movie for at least two months and on the day it opened, I was in line for the 10:30 am showing!

And I loved it!

Being a food blogger one would think I would easily relate to the Julie Powell character but I really did not. I guess I was too involved with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia to try to put myself in Julie's shoes. Meryl was exceptional as Julia Child, she had Julia's accent, mannerisms and ever her body language down cold. I only remember seeing Julia Child's TV show, The French Chef, once and I believe it is around 1969-70ish. I was a young child at that time but my memories are very clear on this episode of The French Chef. Julia was talking about tenderizing meat and she had various meat tenderizing tools set out and then from behind the counter Julia pulled out a baseball bat. You have to love anyone that tenderizes meat with a baseball bat or even suggests it!



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Coquelets sur Canapes
Recipe adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking; Vol 1" by Julia Child

Mushrooms:
1½ lbs. fresh mushrooms
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
A 10-12 inch non-stick skillet or sauté pan
1 Tbs. minced shallots or green onions
½ clove minced garlic

Trim and wash the mushrooms. Leave whole if small, quarter if large. Dry in a towel. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes in hot butter and oil until they are very lightly browned.

Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Set aside.


Canapés:
Homemade style white bread
½ cup clarified butter
A skillet
6 poultry or game livers from the birds
3 Tbs/ fresh, raw pork fat; OR fat bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes rinsed and dried
¼ tsp. salt
Big pinch of pepper
1 Tbs. Madeira, port or cognac
Optional: 2-3 Tbs. foie gras

Cut 6 slices of bread, ¼ inch thick. Remove crusts, and cut slices into rectangles, 2 by 3½ inches.

Sauté the bread lightly on each side in hot clarified butter.

Trim the livers, cutting of any black or green spots. Chop very find, almost into a purée, with the port fat or bacon. Then blend the liver in a bowl with the seasonings, wine, and optional foie gras. Spread the mixture on one side of each rectangle of sautéed bread. Arrange on a broiling pan and set aside.
(Preheat broiler in time to cook the canapés just before serving).


Roasting the Birds:
Six 10-12 ounce, ready-to-cook squab chickens, game hens, squab pigeons, or game birds
½ Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. finely minced shallots or green onions
½ tsp. dried tarragon
4 Tbs. butter
6 strips of bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes, rinsed, and dried.
A shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the birds easily on their sides
3 Tbs. butter, melted with 1 Tbs. good cooking oil
A basting brush
½ Tbs. salt

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Season the cavities of the birds with a sprinkling of salt, shallots or onion, and tarragon, and a teaspoon of the butter. Truss the birds, dry then and rub with butter. Cut the blanched bacon in half, crosswise, and tie 2 strips over the breast and thighs of each bird.

Place the birds in the roasting pan and set on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Baste and turn the birds every 5 to 7 minutes until they are done.

Chickens will take from 30 to 40 minutes; they are done when the last drops of juice from their vents run clear yellow with no trace of rose.
Game Hens, as their flesh is usually firmer than chicken, take about 45 minutes; they are done when the flesh of their drumsticks is soft.
Partridge and Quail, if young and tender, may be judged like chicken; if older, like game hens.
Pigeon and Dove may be served slightly underdone if you wish, when their juices run a very pale rose rather than a clear yellow.

When done, remove trussing strings, sprinkle the birds with salt, and place then on a warm platter. Set in the turned off oven, with its door ajar.


The Sauce:
1 Tbs. minced shallots or green onions
1½ cups brown chicken stock, or canned beef boullion
¼ cup Madeira or port
1 to 2 Tbs. softened butter

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan, Stir in the shallots or onion and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the stock or bouillon and wine and boil rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices until liquid has reduced to about ½ cup. Correct seasoning. Off heat and just before serving, swirl the butter into the sauce.

Final Assembly:
1 Tbs. butter
¼ tsp. salt
Pinch of pepper
A handful of water-cress leaves or parsley springs

Just before serving, run the liver canapés under a hot broiler for a minute, until they are sizzling.

Toss the mushrooms over moderately high heat with the butter, salt and pepper.

Place a canapé under each bird. Surround with the mushrooms, and decorate with water-cress or parsley. Spoon the sauce over the birds and serve.



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11 Comments:

Blogger Deeba PAB said...

O boy...this looks ever so good. It does sound quite involved Michelle & you've come out tops! Loved reading the Julia talk...had Meryl Streep in my head throughout, not Julia. Love the baseball bat bit...LOL!

August 17, 2009 at 7:51 AM  
Blogger Angry Asian said...

so are you saying that you're going to be tenderizing your meats with a baseball bat from now on? :)

so i know how you feel about the movie but how did this dish turn out for you? it looks beautiful, everything looks so elegant and perfectly placed.

August 17, 2009 at 7:59 AM  
Anonymous Kayte said...

Yes, I can come for dinner the next time you serve this! It looks fantastic to me. I have to look at the Whisk menu this week as I had my grocery list set for gaz soup...LOL...don't know where I went wrong on that one...LOL.

August 17, 2009 at 8:23 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I too absolutely loved the movie and had been waiting for it to come out for months! After I saw the movie I made her chocolate mousse!
Your dish came out beautifully. I have stared the entry for future reference so I can make. YUM!!!

August 17, 2009 at 1:34 PM  
Blogger Kathy Walker said...

Beautiful meal! Wow!

I saw the movie yesterday afternoon and agree, Meryl has Julia down. It was a great movie.

August 17, 2009 at 7:54 PM  
Anonymous Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said...

Looks delicious! I agree about the movie - I loved Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia... didn't even pay much attention to the Julie parts. I'm reading the Julie and Julia book now, though.

August 17, 2009 at 9:11 PM  
Blogger chow and chatter said...

wow wonderful food and a great blog i am humbled that you took the time to visit my blog, will join all the lovely followers LOL Rebecca

August 18, 2009 at 9:02 PM  
Blogger Denese said...

All I can say is...WOW! It looks and sounds sooo good.
You have such a yummy blog! :)

August 18, 2009 at 10:04 PM  
Blogger Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Your header is clever and beautiful. So is this photograph. I want to cook the food up, now.

I am looking forward to checking out your blog. What I have seen, so far, is truly magnificient.

August 19, 2009 at 8:31 AM  
Blogger California Girl said...

yours is the first chef critique I've heard on the movie and I'm glad you liked it as I want to see it in the theatre. I usually wait for the Netflix release.

This recipe looks sooo delicious and easy. Will try it.

August 23, 2009 at 9:48 AM  
Blogger Shari said...

I loved Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child too! Your pommes pont neuf look perfect!

September 7, 2009 at 8:58 PM  

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