Difficulty: Easy
Active Time: 1 hr
Start to Finish: 1 hr 20
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients 

Baby Chicken:

• 2 Baby Chickens (Coquelets) 
• Olive Oil
• Salt and fresh ground pepper or Classic BBQ Rub, recipe follows
  
  Classic BBQ Rub:
  
• 2 tablespoons smoky paprika
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder 
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano, crushed

How to cook  

For Baby Chicken:

Build charcoal fire or preheat gas grill. Using poultry shears or a chef's knife, split chicken down the breast bone to cut the chicken in 1/2. Brush lightly with olive oil on all surfaces and sprinkle with salt and pepper or Classic BBQ Rub. Set aside.

Using a rib holder, place the 4 chicken halves vertically skin-side facing out in each of the 4 slots. The chicken in the holder will resemble slices of toast in an old-fashioned toast holder. Place the rib/chicken holder in the center of the cooking grate over indirect medium low heat (making sure no heat is directly under the chicken.) Grill for 1 hour, or until chicken registers 185 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh. After 30 minutes, check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Brush liberally with barbecue sauce during the final 15 to 20 minutes only. If the chicken is sauced too early, it will burn on the outside before the interior meat is cooked through.

For Classic BBQ Rub:

Combine paprika, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt and oregano in bowl; mix well. For a smoother rub, puree ingredients in a spice grinder until well combined and all pieces are uniform (the rub will be very fine and tan in color). This step is important if adding to any homemade barbecue sauce.

Note: Extra rub can be stored in an airtight container for up to six months.

Yield: about 1 cup

Wine Suggestion: a Red wine: a AOC Burgundy - Domaine de Brully - 2004 - Pinot Noir - This wine is the model version of what Pinot Noir can produce in its cool climate birthplace of Burgundy, where it can make the world's best old-ageing red wines. This one is partly aged in oak barrels, and displays a mouthful of berries aromas (raspberries and cherry). Round and supple. Its light body and good acidity matches it well with roasted or braised poultry.

Bon Appetit

Brice

Difficulty: Easy
Active Time: 20 min
Start to Finish: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings






Simple and sophisticated.

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus Parmesan cheese shavings
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 12-ounce rib-eye steak
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 4 cups (lightly packed) arugula
• 2 large lemon wedges

How to cook

Mix grated cheese and butter in small bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside. Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots, and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Divide arugula and Parmesan shavings between 2 plates. Squeeze lemon over. Slice steak; place atop arugula. Top steak with Parmesan butter. Drizzle lightly with glaze. 
 

Wine Suggestion: a Rosé wine, a Nielluciu / Sciaccarellu / Grenache - Bio Wine - Domaine de Torraccia - 2004 - AOC Corsica - This dry and aromatic rose wine is a perfect choice when there is both red meat in brown sauce and raw seafood on the table, as it can go along with both extreme. It matches best with any salad and, of course, those who had the chance of discovering Corsica will enjoy it best when chilled as an aperitif with good friends on a veranda.

Bon Appetit

Brice

Difficulty: Medium
Active Time: 2 1/2 hrs
Start to Finish: 12 hrs
Yield: 10 servings








Most people never think about cooking cucumber—especially since that crisp, raw crunch is so perfect for salads and canapés. But cucumber acquires a wonderful velvety texture when cooked and puréed, and this soup shows it off beautifully. Even better, the flavor and color of this soup are at their best when it is warm, not hot, which takes some of the stress out of serving ten guests.

Ingredients 

Cucumber Soup:

• 3 large seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; 3 pounds total), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 small russet (baking) potato (1/4 pound)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 celery rib, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (3-inch) fresh thyme sprig
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
  Scallop and Sole Mousselines:
  

• 1/2 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
• 1/2 lb sole fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon lightly beaten egg white
• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

• Special equipment: parchment paper; 10 (2-oz) metal timbale molds (2 inches in diameter) 

• Garnish: thinly sliced smoked snowfish; fresh chives or fresh dill sprigs 
  
  

How to cook  

Cucumber Soup:

Cook cucumbers in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, just until water returns to a boil, about 1 minute, then immediately drain in a colander and transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain cucumbers well, then purée in 2 batches in a blender until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute, transferring to a bowl.

Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme in butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add potato, 4 cups water, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, partially covered, until potato is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf and thyme.

Purée mixture in batches in blender until very smooth, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a large bowl. Chill, uncovered, until completely cool, about 30 minutes.

Stir cucumber purée into potato purée and force soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids.

Stir remaining teaspoon salt into soup, then reheat in a bowl in a microwave or in a saucepan on stovetop over low heat (microwaving is best because it preserves the soup's bright green color). Put 1 mousseline in each of 10 shallow soup bowls and pour warm soup around each.

Cooks' note: Soup can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Scallop and Sole Mousselines:

Rinse scallops and sole and pat dry, then purée in a food processor until very smooth. Force purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl, scraping bottom of sieve as needed.

Set metal bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, then add egg white to purée and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well combined. Add cream 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition until incorporated. (Mousseline should be the consistency of soft mashed potatoes; if it becomes runny or separates, stop adding cream and chill mixture, covered — still in ice bath — until firmer, about 30 minutes. Then continue adding cream.) Cover bowl and chill mixture 8 hours.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (~180°C).

Cut out 10 rounds of parchment paper to line bottoms of molds and 10 rounds to line tops of molds, using 1 timbale mold as a guide. Brush molds with some melted butter and line bottom of each with a round of parchment. Chill molds 5 minutes (to set butter), then brush paper and sides of molds again with more melted butter.

Stir salt, pepper, nutmeg, chives, and dill into mousseline, then divide among molds (they will be about two-thirds full). Rap molds on counter once or twice to settle mixture, then put a buttered parchment round, buttered side down, on surface of each mousseline. Put molds in an 8-inch square or round baking pan (2 inches deep) and bake in a hot water bath in oven until mousselines are just set and springy to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool mousselines in molds on a rack until warm, about 10 minutes, then invert onto a large plate and pat dry with paper towels before transferring to soup bowls.

Cooks' note: Mousselines can be baked 1 day ahead and cooled completely in molds, then chilled in molds, covered. Bring to room temperature, then reheat in a hot water bath in oven about 15 minutes.
 

Wine Suggestion: a White wine, a Sauvignon Blanc - Loxarel Gaia - 2005 - DO Penedes (Spain) - This wine is powerful, perfumed, with musky notes and aromas that remind Valerian. Later, exotic fruit fragrances appear. Harmonious, perfect balance between the acidity and the alcohol. The aftertaste leaves a pleasant trace that invites us to repeat ! This light-bodied Sauvignon Blanc can be enjoyed as an aperitif and also matches fish in white sauce, vegetable soup and hard cheese.

Bon Appetit

Brice