Conference turris::cooks

    Roberta, I don't know what one does to make a *real* supreme sauce,
    but one of the things I do is to coat a chicken breast in seasoned
    flour, brown it in butter, remove the cooked meat from the pan,
    and deglaze the pan with white wine and a splash of lemon juice,
    reduce the sauce, and pour it sur le poulet.  C'est good et simple.
    
    I can check with my french cook book tonight, if you like.
    
    Peigi

I believe this sauce is called "Sauce Vellot�" or something quite like
that.  It's a basic sauce that is used as the start to many other
things.  It's what I seem to have gotten when "supreme sauce" was
mentioned in a restaurant.  I think what they mean is that it is a sauce
for a supr�me of chicken. 

The trick is to use LOW HEAT and a lot of patience.  If you 
haven't made sauces before, your wrist should feel like it's going to 
fall off from all the stirring before you're done.


	4 tbl. butter
	4 tbl. flour
	1 cup of chicken stock (canned is fine) warmed up a bit

Melt four tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small sauce pan.  

Slowly shake in four tablespoons of flour (plain old all-purpose stuff)
stirring constantly with a fork or whisk.  The flour will expand and
become a paste-like substance. 

Let it cook with constant stirring over low heat for five minutes or so.
You just want to kill the raw flour taste. If it starts to brown the
heat's too high, but don't get excited, just lower the heat and move on
to the next step. 

Start adding warm chicken stock a little at a time.  When it hits the 
mixture, it will be all runny and nasty looking.  After a few seconds of 
stirring it will become smooth and sauce-like.  Repeat until the stock 
is gone.

(optional)

Add some white pepper, a little salt if you're brave, and maybe grate in 
a little cheese, or add an egg yoke to make it thicker.  I suspect 
most restaurants add cheese.  A slight touch of nutmeg will also be 
tasty, but only a slight amount.  Less than an eighth of a teaspoon, 
say.

The sauce can be made ahead and put aside, or it can be frozen for a 
week in an airtight container.  It probably won't nuke too well, but you 
can reheat it in a pan over low heat or a bain marie.

						>>>==>PStJTT

Last night, for yuks, I looked to see what Pierre Franney (sp?) had to 
say on the subject, and he suggests this:

	2tb butter
	2tb flour
	1 1/4 c chicken stock
	1/2c heavy cream
	juice of 1/2 lemon
	salt & pepper

Do the butter, flour and chicken stock as in .2, then add the cream, 
lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste.  The sauce can be used as is, or 
put through a fine sieve to smooth it out a little more, then reheated.

					>>>==>PStJTT

    From "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," by Simone Beck, Louisette
    Bertholle, and Julia Child, c. 1961, pg. 268:
    
    [Breast of Chicken with Cream]
    
    Serve these with buttered asparagus tips, green peas, artichoke
    hearts, or creamed spinach, a good risotto cooked in chicken stock,
    and a bottle of chilled white Burgundy or Traminer.  
    
    
    
    4 supremes (boned breasts from 2 fryers)                
    1/2 tsp. lemon juice
    1/4 tsp. salt
    big pinch white pepper
    A heavy, covered, fireproof
    casserole about 10 inches in diameter
    A round of waxed paper 10 inches in
    diameter and buttered on 1 side
    4 Tb. butter
                              
    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    
    Rub the supremes with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly
    with salt and pepper.  Heat the butter in the casserole until it
    is foaming.  Quickly roll the supremes in the butter, lay the buttered
    paper over them, cover casserole and place in hot oven.  After
    6 minutes, press top of supremes with your finger.  If still soft,
    return to oven for a moment or two.  When the meat is springy to
    the touch it is done.  Remove the supremes to a warm platter and
    cover while making the sauce (2 to 3 minutes).
    
    for the sauce:
    
    1/4 c. white or brown stock OR canned beef bouillon
    1/4 c. port, Madeira, or dry white vermouth
    1 c. whipping cream
    Salt and pepper
    Lemon juice as needed
    2 Tb. minced fresh parsely
    
    Pour the stock or bouillon and wine into the casserole with the
    cooking butter and boil down quickly over high heat until liquid
    is syrupy.  Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat
    until cream has thickened slightly.  Off heat, taste carefully for
    seasoning, and add drops of lemon juice to taste.  Pour the sauce
    over the supremes, sprinkle wih parsely, and serve at once.

    
    The cookbook cites variations using paprika, onions, and cream;
    diced aromatic vegetables and cream; mushrooms and cream.  

    From "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," by Simone Beck, Louisette
    Bertholle, and Julia Child, c. 1961, pg. 270:
    
    [Chicken Breasts Sauteed in Butter]
    
    Here the chicken breasts are lightly dusted with flour and are sauteed
    in clarified butter.  (Ordinary butter will burn and form black
    specks on the supremes.  Clarified butter may be heated to a higher
    temperature before burning.)  A good accompaniment for this dish
    would be grilled or stuffed tomatoes, buttered green peas or beans,
    and potato balls sauteed in butter.  Serve with it a red
    Bordeaux-Medoc.
    
    
    4 supremes (boned breasts from 2 fryers)
    1/4 tsp. salt
    big pinch of pepper
    1 c. flour spread on an 8-inch plate
    
    Just before sauteing, sprinkle the supremes with salt and pepper,
    roll them in the flour, and shake off excess flour.
    
    An 8- to 9-inch skillet
    6 to 8 Tb. clarified butter
    [note that you will need 1/4 c. more for your sauce]
    A hot platter
    
    Pour clarified butter into skillet to a depth of about 1/16 inch.
    Set over moderately high heat.  When the butter begins to deepen
    in color very slightly, put in the supremes.  Regulate heat so butter
    is always hot but does not turn more than a deep yelow.  After 3
    minutes, turn the supremes and saute on the other side.  In two
    minutes, press tops of supremes with your finger.  As soon as they
    are springy to the touch, they are done.  Remove to a hot platter,
    leaving the butter in the skillet.  
    
    Brown Butter Sauce (Beurre Noisette)
    
    4 Tb. clarified butter
    3 Tb. minced parsely
    1 Tb. lemon juice
    
    Add additional clarified butter to skillet and set over moderately
    high heat until the butter has turned a very light golden brown
    (a minute or two).  Immediately remove from heat, stir in parsely
    and lemon juice and taste for seasoning.  Pour over the supremes
    and serve.
    
    The book cites variations including deglazing the pan with wine,
    with truffles, and rolling them in Parmesan and fresh bread crumbs.
    
    
    Bon appetit and all that !
    
    Peigi