A copy of The French Chef dvd, arrived from Netflix, so last night I made Supremes De Voilaille a l'Ecoissaise, which is the French for Chicken Breasts with Diced Aromatic Vegetables and Cream. The vegetables are the classic trinity of celery, carrots, and onions that are sweated for ten minutes, while the sauce is a brown stock base reduced with madeira and heavy cream. The chicken gets flattened a bit, and then rolled in butter before a quick poach under parchment in a hot oven - hot being non-explicit in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I would say about 400 degrees.

The master recipe is infinitely variable and super quick. Out of lemons, I had to make do with a light vinegar, mustard and olive oil wash for the "marinade" that Julia Childs uses, and reduced the butter accordingly, perhaps one generous tablespoon instead of four. The sauce was so tasty I wish I made extra.

Again, I'm surprised how easy this book is to follow. I feel like I've got a practical and humorous chef watching over me with instructions and tips as I cook. This is such a stretch from modern chefs, with their aggressive sarcasm, competitive edges, and rapscallion personalities. I'm not a huge fan of quick cook shows and enjoy a good dose of authoritative professionalism, but there's something to be said for the warmth, charm and languor of those easy going chefs (now mostly women except Rachel Ray, who is always harried) that impart a joy for cooking which is communal in character and meant to be relished step by step, who carry the torch of easy to understand, elegant food for the home chef. Seconds of this, please.