Recipe#8590

Title: Poulet a la Montrachet (Chicken & Mushrooms in Cream Sauc

  From "The French Farmhouse Kitchen", Eileen Reece, Exeter Books,
  1984. ISBN 0-671-06542-4
  
  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; May 12 1993.

      Yield: 6 servings
 
      1    Free-range chicken (2 kg [4
           -lb])
    225 g  (8 oz) small spring carrots
    225 g  (8 oz) small onions
           -(pickling size)
    225 g  (8 oz) button mushrooms
     25 g  (I oz) butter
      1    Long branch tarragon or 1
           -sprig each thyme,
           -rosemary, parsley
      1    Bay leaf
           Salt, black pepper
    150 ml (1/4 pint) white burgundy
      2 lg Egg yolks
    300 ml (1/2 pint) double cream
 
  I made this one last night and was quite pleased with it, though the
  sauce turned out a bit thin.  I probably didn't cook the sauce long
  enough but I was afraid of curdling it, something I've been quite
  good at lately. BTW, I couldn't find any white burgundy so I used
  white Zinfandel instead.
  
  Wipe the chicken inside and out with a cloth wrung out in boiling
  water. Cut into 10 serving pieces:  2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings
  and 2 breasts halved.  Scrape the carrots and peel the onions.  Wipe
  the mushrooms with a damp cloth and trim the stalks.  Melt the butter
  in a heavy iron cocotte [heavy frying pan or Dutch oven.  S.C.] over
  low heat and when foaming add the pieces of chicken, the carrots and
  onions, and the herbs tied together. Season with salt and pepper, add
  the wine, cover and cook for 30 minutes, moving the ingredients
  around occasionally to prevent colouring. When the carrots and onions
  are tender remove them with a slotted spoon, cover and keep hot over
  a pan of boiling water.
  
  Slice the mushrooms finely, add to the pan, sprinkle with salt, cover
  and simmer for a further 20 minutes.  Beat the egg yolks into the
  cream and set aside.
  
  Remove the chicken from the pan to a heated serving dish, place the
  vegetables around it in small groups, cover with foil and keep hot.
  Using the back of a fork, work the meat residue from the bottom of
  the pan into the cooking juices.  Bring to boiling point, remove the
  herbs, and draw the pan from the heat.  Add a tablespoon of pan
  juices to the cream, stir well and return this mixture to the pan,
  stirring constantly until thick. Pour immediately over the chicken
  and serve without delay.
  
  The excellent sauce of this dish is best appreciated when accompanied
  by plain noodles or boiled rice.
  
  Makes 6 servings.