Quail with grapes and rosemary (with mashed potatoes and blood sausage).

A semi-formal recipe Inspired by the book 'The Food of France' from Murdoch Books.

Hello. I hope you are doing well. In this post, I am sharing a recipe inspired by a challenge my wife gave me. I hope you like it. Try the recipe and let me know how it went. Remember to hit like, leave your comments, and share, and if you have not subscribed, please do so (it is free).

I could not tell you about authentic French cuisine because I have never visited France. Yet, I have tasted their food (escargot, onion soup, foie gras, baguette, bouillabaisse, and many other delicacies). During our honeymoon, my wife and I dined at a hoity-toity French restaurant by the beach in Rincón, Puerto Rico, with a twelve-course French delight. When we moved to Florida, we celebrated coming out of a difficult time by eating at one of the best French restaurants in Orlando (where I had an interesting experience). Furthermore, at home and as a personal chef, I have cooked some meals that could be considered authentically French.

A while ago, my wife and I decided to buy a card game for couples that included certain challenges, and one of them was to cook something she thought was tricky. One day, after she served me her card, she opened a French cookbook from my library and pointed to a delicious and complex-looking recipe of Quails with Grapes and Tarragon.

The thing with this game is that you cannot say no to what your partner SeRVD¹ once you accept the challenge. But in the end, she was served a delicious meal (even though she wasn't a fan of the natural taste and texture of the quails).

Honestly, this was a simple dish to make, and it goes well with some wine (whatever wine). I served it with butter-loaded mashed potatoes and Argentine blood sausage bought from a Portuguese/Brazilian market near home. So much for keeping it authentically French!

The recipe calls for tarragon, but I couldn't find it at the supermarket, so instead, I used rosemary from my garden.

Here is the recipe and some pictures.

Quail with grapes and rosemary (with mashed potatoes and blood sausage).

Ingredients (serve four)

• 8 sprigs of rosemary or tarragon

• 8 quails

• 2 tbsp clarified butter. If you are more of a rustic style cook, you can use regular butter for a different color and level of richness.

• 170 ml (2/3 cup) white wine. I used an affordable Sauvignon Blanc.

• 410ml (1 2/3 cup) chicken stock.

• 150g (5 1/5 oz) seedless white grapes. I sliced mine in half.

• Salt to taste

• 4 links of Argentine blood sausage

• A butt-load of butter loaded mashed potatoes. Enough for four servings. You can do this in advance. If you are not in the mood of boiling and mashing, you can buy and prepare your favorite supermarket mix (but don’t tell any Frech chef I about it).

Process

Phase 1

1. Serve yourself a drink and play your favorite music. I cook with Bourbon, and I listen to a combination of Latin and American rock.

2. Practice the art of mise en place. This concept means to keep your ingredients organized, portioned, and ready to use.

3. Warm up your oven to the lowest temperature. In a few minutes, you will be using it to keep the different components of the meal warm while you do other stuff.

Phase 2

1. Season the quails to your taste, but make sure they are seasoned on the inside, too.

2. Put a sprig of rosemary into the cavity of each quail. Put in the fridge for the seasoning to penetrate the meat.

3. Make your mashed potatoes.

4. Heat the clarified butter in a sauté pan or deep-frying pan big enough for all the birds. Brown the quails on all sides.

5. Add the wine and boil for 30 seconds, then add the stock and grapes.

6. Lower the temperature, cover the pan, and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the quails are fully cooked.

7. In the meantime, you can cook the sausages in a skillet at medium-high for about four minutes. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and cover for about four more minutes to cook through. Afterward, take the skillet out of the fire, keep it covered, and put it in the oven.

8. Serve the mash on your favorite dining plates.

9. Remove the quails and plate them with the potatoes. Leave the sauce and grapes in the pan. Return the plate to the oven.

10. Crank up the heat and boil the sauce until it becomes syrupy. Strain the sauce, pour it over the quails, and serve.

11. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures and a question.

Question: What is your favorite French food?

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1. SeRVD is the name of the card game. Totally recommended. They have versions for couples, friends, and entire families.