Chaud-froid

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Revision as of 16:18, 7 July 2010 by imported>Hayford Peirce (more or less finishing the lede para.)
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Chicken breasts in chaud-froid, decorated with tarragon and an extra layer of chicken aspic.

Chaud-froid (literally "hot-cold" in French) is a jellied white sauce used to decorate and flavor elegant, and sometimes very elaborate, French dishes such as cold chicken breasts or entire cold chickens. The classical preparation of it, as elaborated by 19th-century chefs such as Georges Auguste Escoffier for such dishes as Suprême de volaille Jeannette, began with a white velouté sauce, to which was added cream, for the color, and very thick jellied aspic, for the thickening. Strained and seasoned, frequently with tarragon, it would then be applied in one smooth layer after another onto cold dishes such as eggs and chicken until the final dish was smooth, white, and glossy. Sliced black truffles or other ingredients could be used to decorate the final dish. As a final embellishment, another smooth layer of tarragon-flavored jellied aspic might then be spread over the underlying chaud-froid.