le 14 juillet!

I admit it, I'm a francophile. So to honor our gallic friends, we made a great dish of poulet fait comme des grenouilles, which is just chicken cooked frog-leg style. Yum. Served with a galette des pommes de terre (potato and apple bake), and it was, well, deliciouse!

Here's the recipe, for those of you interested, with a nod to a similar recipe in Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way.

for the poulet a la grenouille
3 chicken breasts, skinless, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
half cup flour, for dredging
3-4 stalks of each of the following fresh herbs:
parsley, thyme, oregano, tarragon, chives
half teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pulverize the herbs into fine bits, either with a knife or food processor. Combine the flour and the salt, and dredge the chicken to coat it well. Heat a frying pan to medium high, add the olive oil. Add the chicken to the pan, stirring to coat all sides with oil. Once the chicken starts to brown a bit, add the half the herbs and the diced garlic. Stir from time to time, cooking for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown. Check a few pieces to make sure it's cooked through. Just before you pull it off the stove, add the second half of the herbs and the lemon juice. Serve hot.

For the galette:
6 medium sliced potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (either with a knife or in a food processor or mandoline)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 sprigs thyme, chopped finely
4 fresh sage leaves, chopped finely
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons heavy cream
three-quarter cup of applesauce

Coat an oven-proof pan with the oil, then arrange the potato slices in the pan in a concentric pattern, overlapping each slice. Between the layers, sprinkle the salt a bit, then the garlic and herbs, then a bit of the butter. Continue alternating until the pan is full. Drizzle the cream and applesauce over the top, then cook on the stovetop over medium high for 10 minutes, until the pan is sizzling. Remove the pan from the stove and put it into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until the top of the pan is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges in the pan, or turn the whole thing onto a plate and serve at the table.

As Julia says, Bon appetit!

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