Michael Horowitz wrote:
> Frogleg > wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 07:44:51 -0500, Michael Horowitz
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Well, I'm not a haute cuisine master, nor do I play one on TV, but a
>> combo of washed out chicken, pork fat, and beef broth sounds...a
>> little odd.
>>
>>> I'm trying to transition from a white-knuckled dependence
>>> on recipies to a more logical approach to cooking.
>>
>> If recipes are still white-knuckle, keep practicing with them until
>> you're comfortable. Gifted and experienced cooks can make wonderful
>> food 'off the cuff'.

(snip)
>> Your bland chicken? Over rice? There are a million recipes(!) that
>> begin with X cups of diced, cooked chicken. Diced, sauted veg usually
>> come into the equation somewhere. The remedy isn't to add more pepper
>> to a sauce, but to have some idea of what you have in mind.
>
> Hello FL - I have several sauces folks have previously suggested; I
> was trying to mix the theory I knew (deglaze/roux to thicken/add
> stock) with what I thought (get a stronger taste using bacon grease
(snip)

Absolutely nothing wrong with a modified bechamel sauce, either, Mike. My
grandmother, my mother and I all have made variations of what you describe.
We save the bacon grease for biscuits to serve it over, rather than rice,
but rice works and even noodles

After you've made a light roux with butter, S&P and flour and milk and
cooked the sauce to medium thickness, add about 1-1/2 c. of broth or stock.
And a splash of dry white wine. IMHO, herbs are essential, even if it's
nothing more than some good fresh chopped parsley. Fresh marjoram is
excellent with this; rosemary is also good but is a bit strong in flavour
and must be used (IMO) judiciously. I always add a bit of cayenne pepper to
this mix. Add back the cooked chicken and cook the mixture down a bit.
Serve over crumbled biscuits, rice or noodles.

Jill