Day 3: Beyond the Feather Experiment

#3 was not all a bust. Also that day...

Another try at the pomegranate sauce- the vehicle for the feathers to stick to Henrietta's skin as well as the sweetness to her peck. 1/2 lemon. A bit of sugar. And yet another unknown amount of juice. Did we ever make a sauce before with the molasses? Yes, we did, and we burned it. (See Experiment #2 - The Distressed Chicken.)
The molasses is quite good. Successfully sweet. Following the heating instructions seemed to work. Do not overheat while drunk. This time, only moderately drunk, we did not overheat. Excellent combination with the chicken meat encapsulating the best flavors of Thanksgiving. The salty bird and the sweet berry.

And now: the sauce. Browning shallots and garlic in pan drippings. Deglaze pan w/ 1/2 cup of port. Add 2 tbls of molasses. Beef stock is on. The first tastings are phenomenal- an original sweet and sour sauce. Good and gelatinous. Maybe stretch it w/ a bit more stock or port? And when a piece of the chicken is dipped in the sauce it is perfect in deep blood hues and a huge success!

The next nest experiment- 1 egg, 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 1 cup parmesan. Far more batter like. Involving much more active soaking process. The nests go in.

And the nests- 25 min- very nesty. Photo worthy. Another success. The key is more parmesan than buttermilk.
An Egg filling theory. Goat cheese and milk (should be cream) w/ truffle oil and truffles and pepper. Rich. Creamy. White. Maybe too silty and too much on top of each other but otherwise farmy and country. Looks good in the egg. And if there’s a hole in the bottom, which there was this time, the creamy cheese slowly effuses and soaks into the nest. And when the nest is lifted the shell opens way to a diluge of sauce that overspills the egg and drips sinously downs the sides and onto the plate. Needs something to cut through the richness. Adding zest? Good Choice. A very good morning, wave out the window at the sun, country breakfast kind of feel.

The plate of the nest needs a good line of cilantro pesto across the plate as a seat.

So, to summarize #3. A triple disaster with the feather experiment. Three weak attempts at art. No heart to try w/ fourth piece of chicken at this point. But we end with a triple whammy of nests and chicken sauce and egg cream. The nest is under control. Chicken needs work. Feathers are at zero.