February 09
|
After Agnes became Charles' official mistress, she dropped Chevalier and
Fouquet
but kept her affair going with de Breze who, although he was in love
with Agnes, was politically loyal to Charles. They both had a dramatic
influence over the King and his policies and helped change Charles from a
timid, indecisive figurehead to a strong,
decisive ruler. The six years that Agnes was his mistress turned out to be
the most prosperous years of Charles' reign. Agnes has been commemorated in several culinary tributes including the
popular
Veloute
Agnès Sorel.
Nonnettes de
poulet Agnès Sorel, and
the exceptionally
appropriate Suprême de
Volaille Agnès Sorel (breasts of chicken in a Madeira sauce on a bed of
rice flavored with truffles, mushrooms and tongue) . For
some unknown reason, there has never been a film about Agnes, so instead we
suggest watching
Wild Things-(1999)
since Denise Richards has an
amazing breast scene that may have the same impact on most men as Agnes's
breasts had on
Charles VII. |
Suprême de Volaille
Agnès Sorel
|
_
Chicken Ingredients
Rice Ingredients
6
TB butter
3 large chicken breasts, skinned,, boned and cut
in half
1 TB minced shallots
3/4 cup Madeira
1/2 cup white glace de viande*
salt
& freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1&1/2 cups rice
2&1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped cooked tongue
2 TB chopped truffles
2 cups diced rnushrooms
1/3 cup white glace de viande
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
1, Melt 3 TB butter in a
skillet. Salt & pepper chicken breasts and cook them in melted butter over
medium heat
about 3-4 minutes per side until lightly brown.
2, Add 1/4 cup Madeira, rover and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove
breasts and keep them warn while sauce
is made.
3. In a separate pan, melt 3 TB of butter and cook shallots for about 1
minute over medium heat. Add shallots,
butter, 1/2 cup Madeira and glace de viande to
skillet in which chicken was cooked. Deglaze bits of chicken
from bottom of pan and cook sauce over high heat until
it is reduced by about 1/3. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. While chicken is cooking, melt TB butter in a saucepan and cook
onions over medium heat for 4 minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook for another five minutes.
5. Add rice, stock, tongue, truffles, mushrooms, glace de viande,
and salt & pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a
boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 16 minutes.
6. Make a bed of cooked rice mixture on a serving platter. Arrange chicken
over rice. Pour sauce over chicken
and serve.
* See Appendix A |
© 2010 Gordon Nary