Monday, December 07, 2009

It's a castrated rooster, children


Last night we went to Aug and Cécile's for dinner. They served left-over capon. You know, capon, castrated rooster. Funny thing, for people (me, G, and Cecile) who don't eat chicken, this bird needed to be pretty good. And it was. Capons are roosters that have been castrated at a young age. They are fatter, more tender, and less muscular than their fully male counterparts, and they're hard to find.

Cécile got hers from Balducci's in Alexandria. At around $90 for a 13 pound bird, it's definitely a celebratory beast. It was previously served at thanksgiving and reheated in a bain-marie. There was plenty of delicious, juicy fatty sauce at the bottom of the pan to top the pieces. It's less dense than chicken and ten times more flavorful. It was quite an education in chicken-eating. For dessert, Augustin made a lovely lime and mint soufflé from a recipe in his brother-in-law's cookbook!

Over this simple French cum Thanksgiving leftovers meal, we talked about the White House gate crashers, alternative (read: more creative) careers, and the après civil ceremony party that we're hosting for them at our house in January. Good times!



We started with an aperitif wine they got on their minimoon in Charlottesville, along with some paté Cécile smuggled in.




Bain-marie for the capon

Not a capon, but a very funny baggy container













Cécile is so proud of her new husband and his cooking skills


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