Lakes Region Foodie – An evening with Jacques, part two

Having had such good feedback and interest in last week’s story “An Evening with Jacques”, I decided to go a little further on the subject, and bring you the main course Jacques prepared for us at the evening hosted by Boston University last month. Chef Pepin states in his book, “Essential Pepin” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011), “the appetites of a young, a middle-aged and an older man are different, but a certain continuity remains.” He grew up in France during World War II, and he says watching his mother cook and be creative with leftovers and incidental foods became part of his culinary instinct. His cooking reflects this. He came to this country in the early 1960s, and for that decade worked for Howard Johnson’s chain (remember them, with the orange roofs?) of over a thousand restaurants across the country, developing new ideas and recipes. It broke him free of his classical French training, as he says, “I learned there was more than one way to slice a tomato!” Rumor has it he was the one who first grilled the bun for lobster salad rolls, instead of the plain white limp roll.

Pepin worked at Le Pavillon in New York with Pierre Franey, and studied at Columbia University, eventually getting his degree. He started skiing on free weekends, and met the love of his life, Gloria, on the slopes. In the 1970s he opened his first restaurant, “La Potagerie,” in New York. He also started writing and teaching. He had evolved from the classic and rigid discipline of the French kitchen into a well-rounded chef.

He started teaching on TV in the 1980s, and did a wonderful series with Julia Child. His daughter Claudine worked with him on TV, in the series “Cooking with Claudine.”

Roasted Split Chicken with Mustard Crust

(The splitting and flattening of the chicken and cutting between the joints of the leg and the shoulder reduce the cooking time by half. Jacques uses kitchen shears to split the chicken open at the back and to cut the cooked bird into serving pieces and a knife to cut between the joints.)

The Mustard Crust mixture can be made ahead and even spread on the chicken a day ahead. Jacques pours the cooked chicken juices into a fat separator with a spout and serves over fluffy mashed potatoes, leaving the fat behind.

4 Servings

Mustard Crust

2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

½ teaspoon salt

1 chicken (about 3 ½ pounds)

For the crust: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. (It will be somewhat liquid)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Using kitchen shears (or a sharp knife) cut alongside the backbone of the chicken to split it open. Spread and press on the chicken with your hands to flatten it. (This method is called "spatchcock.") Using a sharp paring knife, cut halfway through both sides of the joints connecting the thighs and drumsticks and cut through the joints of the shoulder under the wings as well. (This will help the heat penetrate these joints and accelerate the cooking process.)

Put the chicken, skin side down, on a cutting board and spread it with about half of the mustard mixture. (I use a pastry brush for this.) Place the chicken flat in a large ovenproof skillet, mustard side down. Spread the remaining mustard on the skin side of the chicken. Cook on the stove over high heat for about 5 minutes, then place the skillet in the oven and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes. It should be well browned and dark on top.

Let the chicken rest in the skillet for a few minutes, then cut into 8 pieces with clean kitchen shears. Defat the cooking juices. If you like, mound some mashed potatoes on each of four warmed plates and place 2 pieces of chicken on each plate. Pour some juice on the potatoes and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Barbara Lauterbach is a member of International Association of Culinary Professionals and a Certified Culinary Professional with extensive background in teaching, lecturing, demonstration and product promotion. She is the author of four cookbooks, and has been published in Cooking Light, Yankee, Fine Cooking and the Boston Globe. She lives in Meredith.