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| M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken |
Four paws up and a tail wag from Sasha, The Wonder Dog, and
one “Oh, Mama!” from the sous chef, signified that M. Jacques’ Armagnac Chicken recipe was
officially a hit in our household. As my
faithful readers know, I am a Culinary Diva with a minor obsession in
mixology. So pardon me if I am a little
prejudiced because this recipe calls for a good measure of Armagnac.
Armagnac is a region in southwest France, and is the oldest
brandy distilled in that country. Unlike
its sibling Cognac, Armagnac is created in small quantities by small producers. Its original purpose was therapeutic, and
don’t you just love how the French have traditionally found therapeutic
benefits from the drinking of alcohol, in whatever manifestation, and have even
enlisted the support of the clergy in these efforts? For example, Prior Vital Du Four, a Cardinal, said
about Armagnac:
"It makes disappear redness and
burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober
consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion;
restores the paralysed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by
application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past
to memory, renders men joyous, preserves
youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the
tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself
permits."
Thank goodness
Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon chose arduous sea travel in their
search for the Fountain of Youth over merely canvassing the local spirit shops
for the best Armagnac. Who knows when,
or if, the New World would ever have been discovered.
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| Very little prep work to get this dish ready for action |
My sous chef is a huge fan of large, moist, succulent
breasts and is not eager to work very hard to get at them. So he prefers butcher trimmed chicken breasts
over whole roasting chickens. While I
maintain chicken can only be properly prepared and appreciated if cooked as a
whole, he merely shrugs and opines that the carving and eating of a whole
chicken is messy and unjustified by the result.
At least that was his position before I mastered Joel Robuchon’s method
of roasting a whole chicken, a method I incorporated with M. Jacques recipe
found in Dorie Greenspan’s Around My
French Table.
M. Jacques’ Armagnac Chicken is a one pot meal that is “melt
in your mouth delicious” with subtle flavors in every bite. As with many of Dorie’s recipes, the dish is
amazingly easy to prepare. Chop the
vegetables and heat in olive oil; give the chicken a thorough salt and pepper massage;
place the chicken on top of the veggies, cover and cook for 60 minutes. That’s it.
This is the busy person’s “go to” meal, and is perfect for a lazy day
when you need to relax from a hectic work and social calendar.
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| A little olive oil glistening for the veggies before adding chicken |
I made my chicken the Sunday after spending the night with
George Clooney and Brad Pitt – tough job, but someone has to do it. (Okay, so they were at the table next to me
and maybe it wasn’t the whole night, but 5 hours next to two of the sexiest men
in America—according to me and People
Magazine-- is a long time to be spanxed and all a twitter. In fact, it was downright exhausting. Thank goodness my sous chef decided to stay home. Just imagine his orgiastic state of mind (and we are not talking about M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken) since Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, and Stacy Keebler were all there and nearby. Who knows if we would still be talking to each other after all that eye candy.
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| http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-palm-springs-film-festival-gala-2012-pictures,0,7475866.photogallery |
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| http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/photo/detail.aspx?FID=53&PGID=231 |
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| http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/photo/detail.aspx?FID=53&PGID=231 |
The M. Jacques Armagnac Chicken was so moist and tender, it
literally fell off the bone. The salt
and pepper massage added the correct amount of flavor to the chicken – not too
much, but enough. I veered slightly from
Dorie’s method and added butter underneath the skin. I like butter and it creates an incredibly
moist chicken in the French style. The
vegetables take on a very rich taste with the amalgamation of Armagnac, fresh
herbs and juices from the chicken.
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| After a long night with George and Brad, a little medicinal Armagnac was in store |
To round out this perfectly simple and balanced meal, we
enjoyed a L’Ermitage 2002 Brut by Roederer Estate that we picked up at 3rd
Corner Wine Shop in Palm Desert. (www.the3rdcorner.com.) This sparkling wine has been compared to a
“tarte tartin” with its notes of baked apples, buttery crust, apricots and
vanilla bean. It is made only in
exceptional years—just like vintage French champagne—and is a perfect
accompaniment to the Armagnac infused chicken.
This is definitely a “Winner-Winner, Chicken Dinner”!
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| Voila! Dinner in 60! |
To read more Doristas experiences with the M. Jacques’
Armagnac Chicken, or to join the group, visit:
