An easy razzle dazzle chicken recipe

Yep you got it: this post is a 2 in 1.
A razzle dazzle AND a chicken run.
I honestly didn't even think it were possible!

Thanks to a fellow blogger (actually that's quite an understatement, she's the goddess of cooking blogs in France)I happily succeeded in making my first own chicken "roulé".

Usually when I have friends for dinner, I try something new, something that I would not do just for myself. I've tried a lot of things, had brilliant successes and pretty horrific failures too (fortunately for you guys I don't take pictures of these dishes).

This time I felt like doing something elaborate. Well that looks elaborate at least.

But the truth is, it's ridiculously simple. That's the beauty of it.

A "Roulé" is basically a maki sushi. Only there's no rice. No seaweed and no soy sauce.

You flatten your meat, poultry or fish until it's very thin and then add a layer of something tasty inside and roll the whole thing up. It's a roll-up. And it's delicious.

So here is what I did, a little adaptation from Mercotte's original recipe from her magnificent blog (http://www.mercotte.fr/).

Chicken stuffed with dried prunes

For 2 "roulés" (4 person recipe)

Ingredients

120g of thin italian coppa

4 chicken scalops

10-15 dried prunes

1. Cut a large piece of plastic wrap (film transparent) and set it so it's nice and flat.

2. Use a rolling pin (rouleau à patisserie) to flatten your chicken a little. If you feel angry frustrated you may use a large hammer ; it will work perfectly too and I'm sure you'll be able to let go. Just beware not to break your counter!

3. First place the coppa on your plastic wrap so that it is nice and flat and covers the whole surface evenly. Just leave a few inches on each sides so you will be able to roll the whole thing up. Then add the chicken on top. Finally add a line of prunes around 1/3 of the plastic wrap. Add salt and pepper.

4. Roll every thing up as tight as you can. Then close the two endings and knot them.

5. The best way to cook these little chickens is to steam them up. It will keep them nice and moist. I used my Lekue mini steam case for 15 to 20 minutes at 200°C (400°F).

If you really want to show off (which of course I did) don't forget to prepare some sauce without which your chicken might seem a bit dry.

For the sauce I heated chicken broth (not home-made I must admit), added prunes cut into small pieces and a Tbs of corn starch to thicken it. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

The last bit of my recipe was a sweet potato purée(with a tad of vanilla) which I found went very well with the sweetness of the prunes and tender poultry.

As for the wine, I chose a delicious Coteaux-du-Layon, the Loire Valley's Sweetheart (http://alamodeaujus.blogspot.com/2010/05/loires-sweethearts.html) whose rich and fragrant aromas blended perfectly with the luscious prunes and potato purée).

How to nail a dinner party - Appetizer

You've got a dinner planned at your place tonight.
And no clue whatsoever what you're going to pull out of your sleeve this time.


Well ladies and gentlemen here is a simple "dazzle your friends" recipe that can easily be made in advance.
I know it seem surreal. Don't worry it's not. It's not even magic.
It all burns down to a siphon soda. And a little bit of organization.
Here see for yourselves:


Tangy Salmon carpaccio with its whipped wasabi cream



Ingredients for 4

15 cl of single cream (crème fraîche liquide)
1 tsp of wasabi
1 lemon
350 g of very fresh salmon
dill
10 cl of orange juice
1 gelatin paper (2g)
Salt and pepper

1. Mix the cream and Wasabi. Add some salt and pepper. Filter the mixture and pour it in your soda siphon.
Turn your siphon upside down and screw the gas cartridge in. Shake it well and set in your fridge upside down for 2 hours.

2. For the carpaccio: cut small squares of salmon. Add salt and pepper, grated ginger and the juice of one lemon. Add fresh dill, mix well and put in your fridge until for at least one hour.

3. Heat the orange juice and add the gelatin (after having left it 1 minute in cold water to soften it). Mix well. Add the juice in 4 little glasses and put them in your fridge for at least 2 hours.

4. When the orange juice has thickened, add the salmon carpaccio over it. Spray wasabi cream on top. Add a few dill sprigs.

With this lovely little dish I would recommend either
- Rosé champagne (Billecart Salmon is awesome, check it out: Billecart Salmon

- Gewurztraminer (Domaine Trimbach is usually a good choice).