I’m not a pork eater….although I have been known to steal a bit of crackling off his plate if he orders it when we go out.
On the basis of crackling alone, both of these look pretty good. The apples in Maragaret’s 1977 port look weird and not very nice. But the modern version could do with one of the two bowls of applesauce from the vintage version.
Roast Pork – Then & Now
I’m really not fit to judge on this though. So, pork eaters, which of these appeals to you you more?
And whislt they are not chops, these pictures did remind me of one of my favourite bits from the Brady Bunch …
“I am drinking champagne alone, on a Monday night, in bed”
I know I am reading the words of a kindred spirit.
So began Jenny’s blog post on Vincent Price’s Poularde Pavillon aka Chicken in Champagne Sauce. I was therefore delighted to see that this was one of the recipes that Jenny had chosen for us to cook as part of the Vincent Price Cookalong.
So, if you’d read my last post you’d know I’d brunched like the King of the Grand Guignol himself on a Buckingham Eggs Jaffle. A few hours later, on what turned into Vincent Price Sunday, I was ready to take on the main event. Here ’tis:
If my chicken looks a bit weird it’s because it was a butterflied one I had in the freezer. It tasted lovely but just did not have the classic appearance of a normal roast chicken. The recipe calls for the chicken to be trussed and, in a moment of dumbarseness I got out my kitchen twine ready to do the necessary. Then paused. How do you truss a chicken with no bones? Short answer you don’t.
To tell the truth, I was a bit narky with this recipe when making it. Basically because I am terribly lazy and Doctor Who was on the telly. Walking the maybe ten steps from the couch to the oven (voice of the pedant – 9 steps) every 8 minutes to baste the chicken seemed like a bit of a palaver at the time. In retrospect those 56 steps were utterly worth it. The chicken was beautifully tender and cooked to perfection. And the champagne sauce went perfectly with the sides of steamed asparagus and roasted potatoes.
The sauce, as also noted by Jenny is much more than what you need for the chicken. She was going to try freezing hers. I had mine over pasta with the leftover veg and some steamed broccoli and beans the following night and it was…..
Just kidding, it was deeeelicious.
The Chicken in Champagne Sauce was a lovely classic, and elegant, way to finish the weekend! If the two recipes I have cooked are any reflection on the rest of the book, then I totally understand why Jenny sings its praises so highly.
So, although it is not Monday and I am not in bed, I am alone and drinking a little champagne toast to Jenny and, of course, to Vincent and Mary Price and their fabulous book. (And in an “it’s all about me” side note, OMG!!!!! You have no idea how long it took to get an even half way decent photo of me trying to concurrently do a wink like the little girl in my sign off logo and raise the champagne glass and take a selfie. Half of them looked like I was heavily sedated on anti-pyschotics and the other half looked like I needed to be. In the end I gave up and took a picture of the glass by my “movie star” mirror!
If your idea of a good time involves doing a bit more than poncing round your bedroom for HOURS looking more and more deranged with every click of the camera, there are a host of events to celebrate the release of the 50th edition of A Treasury of Great Recipes. To find out the wheres and whens, click on the links below:
Truss it and place in a small casserole with the butter and the two cups of Champagne.
Cook in a moderate oven about 45 minutes.
Baste every eight minutes and turn until the chicken is an even golden brown on all sides.
Remove chicken, cut off string and keep warm on a hot platter.
For The Sauce:
Add to the juices in the casserole the cream, shallots, mushrooms, parsley, bay leaves and thyme.
Simmer on top of stove until the sauce has reduced to two thirds of the original amount.
Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.
Place over a medium heat and swirl in the butter.
Add the glass of champagne
For The Presentation
Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken. Serve the rest separately.
This recipe is originally from Le Pavillon in New York. To serve the chicken as per Le Pavillon take the chicken to the table whole and carve it there.
Margaret’s Mediterranean Chicken from 1977 fits the bill of being big and fat and crisp and brown. Not to mention utterly delicious.
Mediterranean Chicken – Then
And when you’re onto a good thing? Stick to it:
Mediterranean Chicken – Now
if only the modern picture had a glass of wine in it, it would be perfect! But both of these are pretty superb pictures, you can almost taste and smell that lovely roast chicken!
I liked this so much I made one myself:
I think it is such a genius idea of Margaret’s to change the vegetables from the traditional roast – the tomatoes, mushrooms and olives were delicious, although I did throw in a few potatoes too.
