Pork Chops Piquant
Trim the far from 6 pork chops and render enough of the fat in a skillet to cover the bottom of the pan. Brown the chops quickly on both sides, reduce the heat, and sauté them until they are tender, or until the juice shows no tinge of pink when the chops are pricked with a fork. Remove the chops to a heated serving platter.
Discard the fat from the pan, add 1 tablespoon butter, and in it sauté 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped, until they are soft but not brown. Add ¼ cup vinegar and cook the sauce until it is reduced to half its original volume. Add 1 ½ cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, and ½ teaspoon salt, cover the pan, and cook the sauce over low heat for 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons chopped sour pickles, 1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped, and a little chopped tarragon, to taste. Thicken the sauce with beurre manié, made by creaming together 1 tablespoon butter with 1 teaspoon flour, correct the sea-soning with salt, and pour the sauce over the chops.
Polonaise Sauce
To ½ cup browned butter add 3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs and cook until the crumbs art golden brown.
Dinner begins with hors-d'oeuvre variés (page 68) and proceeds to a simple broiled chicken (February, 1958), accompanied by pommes frites and French-cut green beans with mushrooms. Dessert is caramel custard, a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.
Pommes Frites (French Fried Potatoes)
Peel 6 potatoes and cut them in pieces about as long and thick as the little finger. Wash them in cold water and dry them well. Cook them in deep fat or oil (375° F.) for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they are soft but just beginning to brown. Remove them from the fat and drain them well on absorbent paper. Let the fat get a little hotter (about 390° F. to 400° F.) and return the potatoes to it. Cook them 1 or 2 minutes more, or until they arc golden brown and crisp. Drain the potatoes, salt them, and serve them at once. Do not cover the potatoes after they are cooked.
Green Beans with Mushrooms
Clean 1 pound green beans, remove the ends, and slice the beans lengthwise. Simmer the beans in 2 cups water with ½ teaspoon salt for 20 minutes, or until they are tender, and drain them. In a shallow pan in 2 tablespoons butter sauté the caps of ½ pound button mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste, until they are a light golden brown. Add the beans. cook until (hey are coated with butter, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Caramel Custard
In a saucepan, over low heat, scald 1 ¾ cups milk with a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean. Heat together 3 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, and ½ cup sugar. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk and pour the hot milk slowly over the egg mixture, stirring well. Add ¼ Cup caramel and stir until it is dissolved. Pour the mixture into 6 custard cups, set the cups in a pan of hot water, and bake the custards in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 30 minutes, or until a small knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Caramel
Cook equal parts of sugar and water in a heavy shallow pan without stirring until the syrup thickens and turns golden. The caramel may be stored in a jar.
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