The Bleu Brick Road: Day 18- Fricassee.
January 28th, 2010
Pale, warm, mucus-like…lackluster in flavor- a white braise is not something I care for. It doesn’t look good, it hardly tastes good and all in all it seems drab. This viscous mess of matte was demonstrated today in the form of Chicken Fricassee. Poultry was floured, seasoned and seared (carefully as to avoid browning/coloration). That same pan (minus the chicken) was then used to sweat onions before adding more butter, more flour and stock (at this point what we had was a veloute sauce). In goes some additional flavors (bay leaf, thyme, stalk of celery, salt & pepper) and finally the bird is reintroduced. Lid on, into the oven for 30-45 minutes. After doing its time, the meat is removed and the sauce remaining in the pan is reduced and a liaison (egg yolks + cream) slowly whisked in. Plated, this dish appears anemic, monotone, uninteresting and flat…really, it doesn’t taste too much better than it looks. It resembles prison food (not that I would know) or something dished up in a cafeteria. It reminds me of the hot lunches served in grade school that I loathed and would oftentimes skip, opting for a chocolate milk instead.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:14 am
I think now, more than ever, that I will never allow this to meet my palette. It looks like something that I would have to camouflage in additional pepper & salt just to get through it.
Prison food? You’re f***ing hilarious!
xoxoxo
January 29th, 2010 at 9:15 am
Its really just a matter of personal taste- I dont like it too much but who knows? You may love it.
I think the color is my biggest issue…that odd pale tone puts me off.
Ah well, its still good to know/learn, even if I never make it in my own kitchen.
Thanks for reading & commenting Brandi- always so lovely to hear from you dear.
xoxox
-C
January 29th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I closed my eyes and added red pepper flakes, mushrooms & lightly rendered pancetta. Oh, and figured if I’m going to fricassee anything, it’s going to be a wascally wabbit!
xo, Biggles
January 29th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Biggles…
Your version sounds and surely looks much better. I imagine that the hit of color from the pepper flakes & pancetta plus the texture added by the mushroom would be a huge improvement.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers.
-C
January 29th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
I was really hungry at the time, really hungry. Ended up running out and getting some Popeye’s fried chicken for lunch. It’s almost as good as gravy or bacon.
Biggles