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About 'My' France

Welcome to French Food Focus. The name describes the intent of this blog. I'll focus on food and because I live in rural France the stress will be upon French food. Not that I will limit myself to food only. There are numerous posts concerning life in France, comments on life in general and, certainly, opinions about anything that strikes my fancy.
I welcome your comments and promise to publish all of them good & bad so long as they're not offensive, pornographic or rude.   If you have some good recipes you'd like to share or if you want to rave about any great French restaurants this  is the place to do it. I hope you enjoy my ramblings about rural France! 
 

Comments to: yankinparisot@gmail.com
 

Maybe not summer yet? A dish for all seasons

Having gotten some guff about jumping the gun on summer with yesterday's menu I though I'd do a dish today that can be served at any time of the year.

I come up with this one for a dinner party for 14 people. Linda just can't seem to not invite people so we end up with these numbers. We had three courses;

Entr?: Braised Endive with a walnut & blue cheese topping

Plat: Roasted chicken parts with a mushroom & tarragon sauce

Cheese: Of course, but I can't remember which ones except I know I bought a superb raw milk Camembert.

Dessert: Carrot Cake. A favorite.

I'll concentrate on the recipe for the chicken dish even though the endive was a big hit as well.

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces. Number depending upon how many you're feeding. I like to use the leg/ thigh piece, one per person.
Mushrooms. I use a mix of dried reconstituted wild mushrooms plus lots of standard white cultivated mushrooms.
A brunch of fresh tarragon.
Full cream
Herbs de Province.

Method:

 

1. Brown the chicken pieces in a bit of oil & butter on the stove top. Salt & pepper to taste.
    
2. Place them, skin side up, in a roasting pan and season with salt, pepper and the HdeP.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes. Make sure the skin is crisp by using the grill if needed.
4. Meanwhile chop the mushrooms into medium sized chunks.
    
5. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan & pour off most of the chicken fat.
6. Fry the mushrooms in the roasting pan tossing frequently until they just soften & scraping the pan to release the chicken juices.
7. Add the cream. Enough to make a good thick sauce. Reduce as necessary to thicken.
8. Add a good handful of the chopped fresh tarragon and mix it in. Remove from heat.
    
9. Pour sauce over the chicken pieces and serve immediately.