The tradition of Réveillon, the dinner parties held by the French on Christmas Eve is alive and well in New Orleans. In order to stay awake until Midnight Mass, French families would draw out dinner right up till it was time to leave for church.
That means lots of good Creole-French food, of which Chicken Rochambeau is one of my favorites. The story is that Antoine Alciatore (namesake of Antoine's) created the dish to honor the Comte du Rochambeau. I'm good with that.
Ingredients:
4 slices French bread toast
4 large slices roast chicken
4 large slices boiled or baked ham
1 tablespoon minced parsley
Dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Bearnaise sauce
1 cup Rochambeau sauce
Fry or bake the ham. This is a butt end of a Chisesi's ham, which gives a good yield for dinner, and some leftovers for sandwiches.
The recipe calls for roast chicken, but I grilled a couple of boneless chicken breasts and sliced them.
Now for the sauces. First, the Rochambeau sauce:
This is really easy, since it's just a mixture of dark brown sugar and butter. The big misconception many have is that Marchand de Vin sauce used in Chicken Rochambeau, but that's not the case.
For Sauce Bernaise, look here
Plating: Lay down the toasted French bread first, then cover with the ham. Then layer the sliced chicken and cover with Sauce Bernaise.
Garnish with chopped parsley or green onion (something I didn't do here).
Serves 4.