Valentine's Day Recipe: Mary Ellen Rae's Poulet aux Fines Herbes

News flash – Valentine’s Day is in two weeks. What are you doing? What are you buying your sweetie? Most importantly, what’s for dinner?

We asked Chef Mary Ellen Rae to suggest a special home-cooked meal. Chef Mary Ellen toiled for years as a chef in the Los Angeles Times test kitchen and now owns Personal Touch Gourmet, a full-service foodie operation for catering, cooking classes, freelance recipe testing and more.

Here’s her recipe for Poulet aux Fines Herbes, a richly flavorful main course that she suggests pairing with roasted asparagus and buttered egg noodles sprinkled with fresh minced chives. A version of this recipe previously appeared in the Times.



As a variation to these sides, I used corn-quinoa pasta as shown in the picture above. On a related note, Fissler USA is about to debut a new line that makes pasta preparation a breeze. When introduced in March, the Solea line promises to dazzle and inspire with its sophisticated, visionary and individual approach to fine cookware. Solea lids are engineered for straining, so there’s no need for a colander when cooking pasta or vegetables. Combined with the renowned CookStar base and other high-tech features, Solea can help you cook pasta Fissler-style — i.e., “perfect every time.” Your pasta — and your Valentine — will love you for your discriminating taste in cookware.

The thoughtful editor/publisher of SeductionMeals.com has posted many more suggestions for enticing Valentine’s Day food, drink, music and other mood setters. Wishing you a lovely evening … ♥

Poulet aux Fines Herbes
Recipe by Chef Mary Ellen Rae of Personal Touch Gourmet

Serves 4

½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup finely ground fresh breadcrumbs
¾ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup minced fines herbes (a combination of chives, tarragon, chervil and parsley)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
½ cup shredded Gruyère cheese

Heat oven to 375°. Line a small roasting pan with foil and set aside.

Stir the Parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs and place on a shallow plate. Stir the flour and salt together on a second plate and pour the egg into a shallow bowl.

Combine the butter and fresh herbs in a food processor and process until smooth. Pound the chicken breasts to flatten to ¼ inch. Place one chicken breast on work surface and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon 1 tablespoon of butter mixture in the center of the chicken. Put 2 tablespoons of Gruyère cheese on top of butter. Fold in the sides lengthwise and roll up jellyroll style so the mixture will form a bundle. Set aside and fill remaining chicken breasts.

Dip each chicken bundle into the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs. Place in the roasting pan or casserole. Press the sides of the chicken to form a round shape, ensuring the bottom sides are tucked under. This will help to keep the butter-cheese mixture inside the bundle. Finish with remaining chicken breasts.

(Chicken can be frozen at this point and placed in an airtight container. When cooking frozen chicken, add an additional 10 minutes to the cooking time).

Bake chicken for 25-30 minutes or until thermometer placed in the chicken (not butter center) reaches 165°.

One more week of Dine LA

One week down and one more to go of the now biannual Dine LA restaurant promotion. Participating restaurants offer a three course prix fixe menu at one of three price points that are a reduction from their usual menu price. This is a great opportunity to try a restaurant that might otherwise be beyond your usual price range, and to get a selection of food that goes beyond what you usually choose. I would rarely get an appetizer, main course and dessert but at these prices, it's worth the dietary splurge. And frankly, the restaurateurs tend to keep the portions reasonable; neither too skimpy nor too excessive. So you walk away feeling very satisfied but not overfed, and with a happy wallet.
We went to Palate Food & Wine last night and the meal was exceptional. The chef at Palate finds a way of making the food unpretentious, and yet, extremely sophisticated. Unusual flavor pairings leave you guessing at the recipe's ethnic origins but the combinations totally work. Go between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5 for the Dine LA deal. (Thanks to EaterLA for the photo)

Fine Food Found: Soleil Westwood

Introducing “Fine Food Found,” short dining reviews by Fissler Foodies in Los Angeles.

Les deux moules



Soleil Westwood interpretation




Fissler interpretation


A French-Canadian bistro on LA’s Westside was offering a generous bowl of moules frites for $10 as part of its 10-year anniversary celebration. How could I (or anyone) resist?

This was my first visit to Soleil Westwood, a charming little spot on Westwood Boulevard just south of Wilshire. From the décor to the service and naturally the food, it was delightful on all fronts.

We began with the parmesan cheese fondue, which is not at all what you may think. A tempting square of baked, breaded cheese appears artfully plated. As the gracious host/chef/owner explained, Canadians spread it on bread with a dash of butter and salt. Simple perfection, pictured below.



My guest ordered crab cakes on farfalle pasta, an unusual combination enriched by a lusty Dijon cream sauce.

The moules frites is pictured above before I devoured it. When the server cleared the dishes, there wasn’t a thing left, not even little scraps of frites. Magnifique!

Coincidentally, Fissler’s new Solea line uses a pot of mussels to illustrate its mouth-watering versatility (pictured above). Described as “visionary, individual and sophisticated,” the line will make its US debut in March at the International Home and Housewares Show. Stay tuned for the details and prepare to be inspired! (If you just can’t wait, click here.)

Hello Lemon Curd.

I'll be the first to admit I'd rather skip dinner and go straight for dessert. Often the first thing that comes to mind is CAKE, but what about all the other wonderful neglected or often overlooked desserts out there? My friend Lauren's family make a traditional Lemon curd every year for the holidays which leaves me thinking about it for the rest of the year, so I decided it's time I made some myself.

What I like most about lemon curd is that it's not only both sweet and a bit tangy but also extremely versatile. It can be used on cakes, filled in donuts or pies, spread on toast or folded in to cream, served alongside a savory dish or just eaten plain as it is. However one choses to have it the reward is there in it's presence.

While searching for a good recipe, I came across David Liebovitz's Meyer Lemon Curd recipe which is adaptable to both Meyer (a sweet lemon for those not familiar) and regular lemons and requires not much more than a few ingredients, a pot, strainer and bowl. Genius.

Lemon Curd
Makes 1 cup (240 g)

Here, I use a slightly dare-devil method for making curd by heating everything together over direct heat. If you're feeling intrepid, instead of increasing the heat in step #4, keep the heat very low, or cook the curd in a double-boiler; a bowl nested over a saucepan of simmering water.

If you're like me, and need to use regular lemons, use 1/2 cup (50 g) of sugar, as directed.

1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly-squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1/3 cup (65 g) sugar (or 1/2 cup, 100 g, if using regular lemons)

2 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cubed

1. Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt.

3. Add the butter cubes and set the pan over low heat, whisking constantly until the butter is melted.

4. Increase the heat and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to become jelly-like. It's done when you lift the whisk and the mixture holds its shape when it falls back into the saucepan from the whisk.

5. Immediately press the curd through the strainer. Once strained, store the lemon curd in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to one week (if it lasts that long in my house).

Pumpkin and Salami Soup!!!

I was searching for a winter soup recipe and found a new website that's a great resource for recipes and food information from Germany: www.germanfoods.org. I figured, if I'm going to cook with German pots and pans I should try cooking some German food. Couldn't resist the hilarious name of this soup: Pumpkin and Salami Soup. The words just sound so funny together. But it's really good. I used peeled and cubed Kabocha squash but butternut would work just as well, and you can get that already peeled and cubed at Trader Joe's and some supermarkets. Or you can make the job really easy and use canned pumpkin.
Pumpkin and Salami Soup
(Kürbissuppe mit Salami)
Recipe courtesy of Roz Denny, Modern German Cooking.
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsp canola oil
1 oz butter
1 lb fresh pumpkin flesh
1 onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp mild curry powder
a good pinch of dried thyme
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 to 3 tbsp cream
4 oz German salami (such as Abraham brand) cut into shreds or quarters
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
flat leaf parsley leaves or chervil sprigs, to garnish

Preparation:
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan and gently sauté the pumpkin with the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes until softened.

Add the curry and thyme and cook for one minute then stir in the stock. Bring to the boil, season and simmer, partially covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes until the flesh is very soft.

Strain off the liquid and reserve. Pass the solids through a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, adding the reserved liquid.

Return to the pan and bring back to the boil. Stir in the cream and then check the seasoning. Pour into warmed soup plates and gently stir through the salami pieces. Sprinkle with the parsley leaves or chervil sprigs and serve with chunks of German rye bread.

Mike makes meat: mmmmyummmm!

Ok, so I’m not much of a cook but when winter rolls around I often crave comfort foods such as roasts and stews. I would much rather have dinner magically appear in front of me. But once in a while I will make an attempt at tackling a recipe. Last winter it was beef stew, but 5 hours and 50 dollars later it was done and sadly lacking in depth and flavor.

Fast forward to last week: while reading an article in the current issue of Cook’s Illustrated (Best Beef Stew, Jan 2010) I was inspired by an in depth explanation as to why their test kitchen chose ingredients to maximize the flavor profile and complexity of this beef stew. And it seemed like a perfect recipe to adapt for use in my new pressure cooker. With recipe in hand and a good sense of determination, I set out to make amends with last years flop. When I got back from the supermarket I discovered that the four pound cut of Chuck Eye sitting in front of me was pre-sliced: not what the recipe called for. After a five minute reconsideration break and a glass of wine from the bottle bought for the stew, I rolled up my sleeves, put my reservations aside and moved onward.

I have to admit I was a bit intimidated. Not only was this my first time using a pressure cooker but also the first time making this recipe, while adapting the cooking time for the pressure cooker. I searched online for the suggested cook time, keeping the depressurization period in mind and it averaged at about 30 minutes in total. So, in the pot went all the ingredients. The pressure lid and the heat went on, and then I waited, impatiently. But a mere half hour later, I released the pressure on the lid, let it cool down for a bit and gave the stew a go. Success! Not only was using the pressure cooker so much easier than I expected but it cut my cooking time down by about an hour, with very satisfactory results. The stew was well received by those who tried it and now both the Best Beef Stew recipe and the Fissler Blue Point Pressure Cooker will have a permanent place in my kitchen.

Fissler Foodie Mike

"Pure Gadget Luxury"!!!

Check out this gift guide video featuring the Fissler CookStar Induction Pro, plus a lot of other great gadgets. I like how she talks about how it keeps the kitchen cool. Did you know that 2009 has been the year of the foody geek, thanks to Julie and Julia?

New Blog: Pressure Cooking with Lorna Sass

Our friend and Very Important Fissler Foodie Lorna Sass has hit the blogosphere. Over at Pressure Cooking with Lorna Sass, the legendary Queen of Pressure Cooking is posting everything you ever needed to know about using your “pc,” as she affectionately calls it.

Those new to “pc” cooking should head straight for the About page, which features a video of Lorna explaining how she came to reign over pressure cooking. (Lorna may be a queen, but she’s equal parts down-home just folks. To wit: there’s a Facebook group named after her. Become a groupie at Lorna Sass is my Homegirl – Pressure Cooker Users Unite.)

Beginning and experienced cooks will find joy aplenty in the wide variety of recipes Lorna has posted. If you think they may be complicated and time-consuming, think again. Using Vegan Fava Bean Mushroom Soup as an example, Lorna explains her unfussy methodology:

“I make all of my soups in the pressure cooker because when I want soup, I want it fast. To put it another way, I’m not one who enjoys hovering over the stove. No, when I’m hungry, I’m good for about 5 minutes of prep. Then, after 10 minutes under pressure and the natural release (another 10 minutes or so), I have a delicious coarsely pureed soup. 30 minutes MAX from start to finish–that’s my style.”

As author of numerous cookbooks (see next post below), Lorna possesses an inspiring repertoire of healthy, luscious recipes. Your only problem will be choosing which to cook first.

Here’s to a merry “pc” dinner, Lorna-style.

Cooking Under Pressure, 20 Years Young

The classic book "Cooking Under Pressure" is out now in an updated 20th anniversary edition. Author Lorna Sass happens to be a Fissler fan. In fact, she used Fissler's Blue Point pressure cookers in a class she taught this past year. If you've been hesitant about pressure cooking, get Lorna's book to guide you, and an easy-to-use Fissler pressure cooker. Fissler makes pressure cooking safe and fast, and Lorna's cookbook makes it delicious. Food Politics author Marion Nestle (second from the right in the group shot in our previous post from New York) said that, "“Anything Lorna Sass writes is a pleasure to read…She makes the cooking methods seem so easy that anyone who doesn’t own a pressure cooker will want one right away".
Here's a preview recipe courtesy of Lorna the "Queen of Pressure Cooking"!

RISOTTO WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup finely minced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
3 1/2 to 4 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup tightly packed, grated smoked mozzarella (5 ounces)
Salt to taste, if desired
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley (optional but pretty and delicious)
Heat the butter and oil in the cooker. Sauté the onion until soft but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice, making sure to coat it thoroughly with the fat. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the broth (watch for sputtering oil).
Lock the lid in place and over high heat. Bring to high pressure. Adjust the heat to maintain high pressure and cook for 4 minutes. Reduce pressure with a quick-release method. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess steam to escape.
The risotto will be fairly soupy at this point. Set the cooker over medium-high heat and boil uncovered, stirring vigorously every minute, until the mixture thickens and the rice is tender but still chewy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add a bit more broth if the mixture becomes dry before the rice reaches the desired consistency. When the rice is ready, turn off the heat. Stir in the tomatoes and mozzarella, and add salt to taste and basil, if you wish. Serve immediately.
SERVES 6 AS AN APPETIZER, 4 AS A MAIN COURSE
Copyright, 2009, Lorna Sass, all rights reserved

The Mac Attack Cook Off

We attended the Mac Attack Pot Luck and Cook-Off recently, put on by our favorite (is there another?) Macaroni and Cheese blog: We Heart Mac and Cheese. Since our macaroni and cheese was going to be one of at least a dozen, we figured that hostess Hilary Havarti could use an extra warming plate to keep the casseroles toasty so we brought along the Fissler CookStar Induction Pro. After baking in the oven in an old Le Creuset enamel on cast iron pan (yes, cast iron is induction compatible) we set the induction pro on "keep warm" and for the next two hours the competition for best mac and cheese was on. Well, this Fissler Foody's mac and cheese didn't make the cut for flavor but it sure looked good sitting on the induction pro. Click here for the winning recipe. And check out the old Roper Scientific Cooking Chart in Hilary Havarti's oven. Quite a contrast technologically to the new Induction Pro.

A Fissler Foody goes to New York

I was in New York last week and attended a panel discussion at New York University, called WHO'S WHO & WHAT'S WHAT: The Evolution of the Food Cognoscenti in America. Restaurant consultant Clark Wolf moderated the distinguished panelists, which included Mitchell Davis, Author and VP of the James Beard Foundation; Barbara Haber, Food Historian, Author, Curator & Chair of the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who Committee; Daniel Humm, chef at Eleven Madison Park, The New York Times' newest four star restaurant; Marion Nestle, Author of Food Politics & NYU Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies & Public Health; and Bob Spitz, author of an upcoming bio of Julia Child. These people ARE the food cognoscenti in America, or at least a small but significant piece of it. A fascinating conversation on food and nutrition policy, the changing role of women in food, the competitive New York restaurant scene and the continuing influence of Julia Child (back on the best-seller lists long after her death) was followed by a reception featuring the amazing goat cheeses from Laura Chenel's Chevre. Moderator Clark Wolf wrote a book on American Cheeses so we knew the cheese would be good.

John Alan Wine Tasting Dinner at The Foundry on Melrose

We've been writing about good food here at Fissler Foodies for a while now. But don't you want some good wine to go with your meal? Click on the title of this post to get the details on an incredible tasting dinner in Los Angeles, featuring wines from John Alan Winery. Renowned chef Eric Greenspan will match his unique and creative dishes with a series of John Alan wines at The Foundry on Monday Oct. 26 (323.651.0915 to reserve your seat!)
*Five wines
*Five courses
*$85 per person
Seating is limited

**MENU**

Seared Scallops
garlic cream / caramelized pears
-- 2007 Viogner --

Duck Confit Risotto
mushrooms / dried cherries / blue cheese
-- 2005 Malcontent --

Breast of Duck
currant mole / crispy masa
-- 2006 East Bank Cuvee --

Duo of Beef
caraway carrot puree / golden raisins
-- 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon --

Artisinal Cheeses
-- 2006 Bonne Terre Rouge --