by Julia Child
Sauté the mushrooms in hot butter and oil for 4 to 5 minutes, but do not allow them to brown any more than necessary. Add the shallots or onions and toss over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
1 tsp flour
Stir in the flour and cook slowly for 2 minutes more, stirring.
⅔ to 1 cup whipping cream
⅛ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
Optional: 2 to 3 Tb Madeira
Off heat, blend in the cream and seasonings. Then boil down rapidly until the cream has reduced and thickened. Add the optional wine, and boil for a moment to evaporate its alcohol. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be set aside and reheated later.
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
Off heat and just before serving, fold in the butter.
Champignons Sautés, Sauce Madère
[Sautéed Mushrooms in Brown Madeira Sauce]
Another appetizing way of using mushrooms is in a brown Madeira sauce. You may smother a filet mignon with them, or fill tartlets, or combine the mushrooms with sautéed chicken livers and ham to fill a rice ring. If you do not have on hand one of the classic, flour-thickened, long simmered brown sauces, you may use a quick brown sauce made of very good bouillon thickened with arrowroot or cornstarch, as suggested in the recipe.
½ lb. mushrooms, sliced, quartered, or minced
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Sauté the mushrooms in butter and oil, adding minced shallots or green onions at the end. Remove to a side dish.
⅓ cup Madeira
Pour the Madeira into the sautéing skillet and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced by half.
1 cup brown sauce (the flour-thickened sauces Numbers I or II, or the quick sauce, Number III)
Add the sauce and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir in the sautéed mushrooms and simmer a moment more to blend flavors. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be made ahead of time. Dot top of sauce with butter and set aside.
1 to 2 Tb butter
Reheat just before serving. Off heat, stir in the enrichment butter.
DUXELLES
[Mushroom Duxelles—Minced Mushrooms Sautéed in Butter]
Duxelles is a dry, mushroom flavoring for many kinds of stuffings and quick mushroom sauces; once made it will keep for several weeks under refrigeration or may be frozen. The juice is squeezed out of the raw minced mushroom so that the cooked duxelles will be as dry as possible; if the duxelles were wet it would dilute and soften a stuffing.
For about 1 cup
½ lb. finely minced fresh mushrooms, whole or just stems (about 2 cups)
A handful at a time, twist the mushrooms into a ball in the corner of a towel to extract as much juice as possible. (Juice may be saved to go into a sauce or soup.)
An 8-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
In the skillet, sauté the mushrooms and shallots or onions in butter and oil over moderately high heat, stirring frequently. After 6 to 8 minutes the mushroom pieces should begin to separate from each other and brown lightly.
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: ¼ cup Madeira and ¼ cup brown stock or canned beef bouillon
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the optional wine and stock, and boil down rapidly until liquid has reduced to nothing.
(*) If not to be used immediately, allow to cool. Pack in a covered jar, and refrigerate or freeze.
CHAMPIGNONS FARCIS
[Stuffed Mushrooms]
Stuffed mushrooms make a good hot hors d’oeuvres or a garnish for a meat platter.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
12 fresh mushroom caps
2 to 3 inches in diameter, stems removed 2 to 3 Tb melted butter
A shallow, lightly buttered roasting pan
Salt and pepper
Brush the mushroom caps with melted butter. Place them, hollow-side up, in the roasting pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
3 Tb finely minced onions
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Stems from the mushroom caps, finely minced and squeezed in a towel to extract their juice
Sauté the onions in butter and oil for 3 to 4 minutes without browning. Then add the shallots or green onions and mushroom stems. Sauté as in the preceding duxelles recipe.
Optional: ¼ cup Madeira
Add the optional Madeira and boil it down rapidly until it has almost entirely evaporated.
3 Tb fine, white, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tb minced parsley
½ tsp tarragon
Salt and pepper
2 to 3 Tb whipping cream
Off heat, mix in the bread crumbs, cheeses, parsley, tarragon, and seasonings. A spoonful at a time, blend in just enough cream to moisten the mixture but keep it sufficiently stiff to hold its shape in a spoon. Correct seasoning.
3 Tb grated Swiss cheese
2 Tb melted butter
Fill the mushroom caps with the stuffing. Top each with a pinch of cheese and drops of melted butter.
(*) May be done ahead to this point.
Bake in upper third of a preheated, 375-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until caps are tender and stuffing has browned lightly on top.
CANNED MUSHROOMS
Canned mushrooms will have more flavor in sauces or garnitures if you follow the procedure outlined here. (If they are to be browned, drain them, dry in a towel, and sauté quickly in butter and oil with minced shallots or onions.)
For 1 cup drained, canned mushrooms:
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
Salt and pepper
Optional: 1 to 2 Tb port or Madeira
In a small enameled saucepan, cook the shallots or onions slowly in the butter for 2 minutes without browning. Add the mushrooms and seasonings, and toss them in the butter. Add the optional wine. Cover and cook slowly for 2 minutes.
NOTE: The juice from the can may be boiled down in a saucepan until reduced to a third of its volume or less. Use as a sauce flavoring.
CHESTNUTS
Marrons
Fresh raw chestnuts are in season in the winter months. Choose heavy nuts with tight-fitting shells—indications that they are fresh and will have their maximum flavor.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Chestnuts have a traditional affinity for roast turkey, goose, venison, boar, wild duck, and pheasant; they also go with pork and with sausages. Chestnut purée is used as a starchy vegetable to accompany any of these meats. Whole braised chestnuts are often combined with other vegetables such as red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, onions, or carrots. Whole partially-cooked chestnuts go into stuffings, particularly sausage stuffings for goose and turkey.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One pound or 35 to 40 whole raw chestnuts will yield approximately 2½ cups of peeled chestnuts.
HOW TO PEEL CHESTNUTS
Chestnuts have an outside shell and a bitter inside skin, both of which must be removed before the chestnuts can be used. Peeling off the inside skin is a chore whatever method you adopt. To our mind, and we have tried them all, the following is the most satisfactory, especially if you want the chestnuts to remain whole.
With a small sharp knife, peel a ⅛-inch strip of shell off one side of each chestnut. Set chestnuts in a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Then three at a time, with a slotted spoon, dip the chestnuts out of the water and peel off the shells and inner skins. (Set aside until later any recalcitrant chestnuts. Drop them all later into boiling water for a moment, then peel them one by one.) The whole peeling process must be a continuous operation and done while the chestnuts are still warm.
PUR�
�E DE MARRONS
[Chestnut Purée]
For 6 to 8 people
A 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan
8 cups peeled chestnuts
2 stalks celery
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ⅛ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
3 cups good brown stock or 2 cups canned beef bouillon and 1 cup water
A food mill
3 to 6 Tb softened butter, or butter and whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar, if needed
Place in the saucepan the chestnuts, celery stalks, and herb bouquet. Pour in enough stock, or bouillon and water to cover the chestnuts by 1½ inches. Simmer very slowly and uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the chestnuts are cooked through. Do not overcook and allow them to become mushy. Drain immediately; remove celery and herb bouquet. Purée the chestnuts in the food mill, then return them to the saucepan.
Beat in the butter, or butter and cream. If purée is too thick, beat in spoonfuls of the cooking liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of sugar if you feel it necessary.
(*) If not to be used immediately, instead of beating in the butter, spread it over the surface of the purée. To reheat, cover and set over boiling water, beating occasionally.
MARRONS BRAISÉS
[Whole Braised Chestnuts]
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
24 peeled chestnuts
A heavy, fireproof casserole or baking dish just large enough to hold the chestnuts in one layer
1 Tb arrowroot or cornstarch mixed to a paste with
2 Tb port, Madeira, or water 2 cups good brown stock or 1½ cups canned beef bouillon and ½ cup water
Water, if necessary
3 Tb butter
Place the chestnuts in the casserole or baking dish. Beat the starch mixture into the stock or bouillon and pour over the chestnuts. There should be enough liquid to cover them by ½ inch; add water, if necessary. Add the butter. Bring to the simmer, cover, then set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 45 to 60 minutes or until chestnuts are tender.
(*) If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered. Cover and reheat slowly on top of stove before proceeding.
If liquid has not reduced to a syrupy glaze at the end of the cooking, drain it off and boil it down in a saucepan. Pour it back into the casserole and roll the chestnuts gently around in it to cover them with the glaze. Serve as follows:
Serve sprinkled with parsley, or combined with other vegetables as directed in whatever recipe you are using.
POTATOES
Pommes de Terre
Out of the vast store of French potato dishes, we have selected an unusual version of mashed potatoes, some excellent grated potato pancakes, a series of good regional recipes for scalloped potatoes, and one for potatoes sautéed in butter.
KIND OF POTATOES TO BUY
We shall not classify potato varieties by name. We shall merely specify baking potatoes when we mean the type of white potato such as Idaho which turns floury after cooking, and boiling potatoes when we are talking about the white potato which retains its shape. It is particularly important that you use the right kind of potato for such dishes as scalloped potatoes, for the potato must not disintegrate during cooking; in such cases we have used quotation marks in order to draw your attention to the necessity for using “boiling” potatoes.
PURÉE DE POMMES DE TERRE À L’AIL
[Garlic Mashed Potatoes]
Two whole heads of garlic will seem like a horrifying amount if you have not made this type of recipe before. But if less is used, you will regret it, for the long cooking of the garlic removes all of its harsh strength, leaving just a pleasant flavor. Garlic mashed potatoes go with roast lamb, pork, goose, or sausages. Although both garlic sauce and potatoes may be cooked in advance, they should be combined only at the last minute; the completed purée loses its nice consistency if it sits too long over heat, or if it is cooked and then reheated.
For 6 to 8 people
2 heads garlic, about 30 cloves
Separate the garlic cloves. Drop into boiling water, and boil 2 minutes. Drain. Peel.
A 3- to 4-cup, heavy-bottomed saucepan with cover
4 Tb butter
Cook the garlic slowly with the butter in the covered saucepan for about 20 minutes or until very tender but not browned.
2 Tb flour
1 cup boiling milk
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
A sieve and wooden spoon, or an electric blender
Blend in the flour and stir over low heat until it froths with the butter for 2 minutes without browning. Off heat, beat in the boiling milk and seasonings. Boil, stirring, for 1 minute. Rub the sauce through a sieve or purée it in the electric blender. Simmer for 2 minutes more.
(*) May be done ahead of time. Dot top of sauce with bits of butter to keep a skin from forming. Reheat when needed.
2½ lbs. baking potatoes
A potato ricer
A 2½ quart enameled saucepan
A wooden spatula or spoon
4 Tb softened butter
Salt and white pepper
Peel and quarter the potatoes. Drop in boiling salted water to cover, and boil until tender. Drain immediately and put through a potato ricer. Place the hot purée in the saucepan and beat with the spatula or spoon for several minutes over moderate heat to evaporate moisture. As soon as the purée begins to form a film in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Beat in salt and pepper to taste.
(*) If not used immediately, set aside uncovered. To reheat, cover and set over boiling water, beating frequently.
3 to 4 Tb whipping cream
4 Tb minced parsley
A hot, lightly buttered vegetable dish
Shortly before serving, beat the hot garlic sauce vigorously into the hot potatoes. Beat in the cream by spoonfuls but do not thin out the purée too much. Beat in the parsley. Correct seasoning. Turn into hot vegetable dish.
CRÊPES DE POMMES DE TERRE
[Grated Potato Pancakes]
These are excellent with roasts, steaks, or chops. As a bed for fried or poached eggs, they may be topped with a cheese or tomato sauce. Or roll them around a filling of mushrooms, chicken livers, or ham, top with a sauce, and brown under the broiler.
For 18 crêpes about 3 inches in diameter, or 8 crêpes made in individual 6-inch crêpe pans
8 ounces cream cheese
3 Tb flour
A 3-quart mixing bowl
Mash the cream cheese with the flour, in the mixing bowl.
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
Mix in the eggs and seasonings and beat until smooth.
6 ounces (1¼ cups) Swiss cheese cut into ⅛-inch dice
Stir in the Swiss cheese.
2½ lbs. of baking potatoes (4 cups when grated)
A vegetable grater
Peel the potatoes and rub them through the large holes of the grater. A small handful at a time, twist them into a ball in the corner of a towel to squeeze out as much of their water as you can. Stir the grated raw potatoes into the egg and cheese mixture.
3 to 6 Tb whipping cream
Optional: ½ cup diced boiled ham, or ½ cup sautéed mushrooms, chicken livers, or onions 3 to 4 Tb fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, chervil
Stir in the cream by spoonfuls to make a mixture the consistency of a thick, creamed cole slaw—not runny. Add optional ingredients. Taste carefully for seasoning.
A 10-inch skillet
1½ Tb butter, more as needed
½ Tb oil, more as needed
A large spoon or ladle
A hot platter
Set skillet over moderately high heat with the butter and oil. When you see the foam begin to subside, ladle 3 piles of batter into the skillet to form 3 crêpes approximately 3 inches in d
iameter and ⅜ inch thick. Regulate heat so crêpes are lightly browned on the bottom and bubble holes have appeared on the surface in about 3 minutes. Then turn and brown on the other sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer to platter and keep warm in one layer while making the remaining crêpes.
(*) If not served immediately, arrange crêpes in one layer on a baking sheet. Set aside uncovered. Reheat for 4 to 5 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
GRATIN DAUPHINOIS
[Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a Pinch of Garlic]
There are as many “authenic” versions of gratin dauphinois as there are of bouillabaisse. Of them all, we prefer this one because it is fast, simple, and savory. It goes with roast or broiled chicken, turkey, and veal. With roast beef, pork, lamb, steaks, and chops you may prefer the gratin savoyard which follows, since it is cooked with stock rather than milk. Although some authorities on le vrai gratin dauphinois would violently disagree, you may omit the cheese. If you do so, add 2 more tablespoons of butter.