Madeleines

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Last week, for the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I baked my first batch of Madeleines (the name Madeleine is the French form of Magdalene). I had always been a little intimidated by these sweet treats, thinking they would be difficult to remove from their pan, and I would end up getting five whole cookies from a lot of work. I'm happy to say I was wrong and these yummy little French cakes could not have been easier to make. What a lovely little tea-time treat, or for a dessert -- we enjoyed them with a small dish of frozen vanilla custard. My niece said they tasted like little cloud cakes and she meant that as a really good thing.

I used the recipe found at Catholic Cuisine, and I would not change a thing (but I may go looking for more varieties now that I have a pan). I bought a tin plated steel pan and besides having to wash it between batches (because I only have one pan) it was great to use. I can't wait to make a batch for my son's French teacher when school begins.

Madeleines
makes 24

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2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Brush each mold with melted butter and dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and lemon zest with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Beat for 5 to 7 minutes or until thick and satiny.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Sift one-fourth of the flour mixture over the egg mixture, gently fold in. Fold in the remaining flour by fourths. Then fold in the melted and cooled butter. Spoon batter into the prepared molds, filling 3/4 full.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the top s spring back. Cool in molds on a rack for 1 minute. Loosen cookies with a knife. Invert cookies onto a rack and cool. Sift confectioners' sugar over the tops or melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and dip the tips in the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Catholic Cuisine

Roast Chicken Provencale

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This was a wonderful roast chicken recipe -- probably the best I've ever cooked. I've had the intent to do a roast chicken post -- I even took a few pictures at one point during a prior chicken-roasting -- but just never made time to write. Partly, I thought you've roasted chicken before. Surely, you have. You don't need me to show you. I always hesitate to come off sounding like a rocket scientist -- I think Ina does that a lot. Like what she is showing you has never been done before, even thought it has -- a hundred times. I suppose Ina doesn't intend to do that any more than I do -- just trying to help the average person with something she might need help with.

So, in no way am I implying, by posting pictures of a roast chicken, that you don't know how to roast a chicken. But, if you like pictures of food prep, or you have never roasted a whole chicken, this post is for you.

For the rest of you expert chicken roasters, just note the part about the provencale, because it really is some tasty chicken.

Provencale is a term used for French cooking which involves herbs and, often, a tomato sauce with olive oil, garlic and herbs. My dad used to make a fish provencale and it was pretty gourmet if my memory serves. This recipe is called Provencale simply because of the use of the Herbes de Provence -- a bottle of dried herbs you'll find in your grocery store -- a mix of basil, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. If you can't find an official bottle, here is a recipe for mixing your own (if you have all those herbs in your pantry). My Giant Eagle had a bottle of Market District Herbes de Provence for about $3.50.

This recipe came from Cooking Light, and I followed it pretty closely. There are a few adjustments in italics, but those are mostly related to chicken basics -- like the fact that I roast my chicken breast side down so the white meat stays very juicy. You can find the recipe here if you prefer to stick with the original recipe.

Roast Chicken Provencale

serves 8 to 10

2 T. dried herbes de Provence
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-pound) roasting chicken
1 small onion, quartered
2 cans low-fat or fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
2/3 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 T. chilled butter, cut into small pieces


Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; mash to a paste consistency.

Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat.




(This picture was taken when I was just roasting a chicken without the herbs -- if you were just roasting, without herbs, you would salt and pepper the outside -- no need with the Chicken Provencale.)


(Here I'm salting and peppering the cavity -- again not necessary with the Provencale)

Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. (because I roast my chicken breast side down, I did this on the back and thighs as well). Rub seasoning mixture under loosened skin.

Place onion in body cavity. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Tie legs together with string (Just wrap cooking twine in a figure eight around leg ends and tie in a knot -- you can also extend tie around wings to keep them close to the body -- prevents overcooking -- but if you don't eat the wings, that's not necessary -- here's a quick how to video). I don't even tie the legs if I am roasting a chicken with an empty cavity -- it cooks faster that way.

Place chicken, breast side down, on a rack inside a roasting pan. Pour chicken broth into bottom of roasting pan (this will prevent any drippings from charring in the bottom of the pan). Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and roast for about 2 hours, basting occasionally with drippings and broth. Chicken is done when a thermometer registers 180 degrees F in the deepest part of the breast (I also measure the deepest part of the thigh). Remove chicken from pan. Cover with foil, and let stand 10 minutes.

Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour pan drippings into bag; let stand 5 minutes (any fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into pan, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat (you will likely not need all the drippings because you added broth to the pan before you started -- you will need about 12 oz. total for the sauce).

Place pan over medium-high heat. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2/3 cup (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat; add butter, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Serve sauce with chicken.

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