Steal This Recipe® Truffled Poussin w/ Potato Puree & Glazed Shallot | Cyrus Restaurant

From Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus Restaurant, located in Healdsburg, in the heart of California's Sonoma wine country

This week's recipe is stolen from Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus Restaurant, located in the heart of California's Sonoma wine country, infuses spring chickens with that beloved truffle aroma and flavor without emptying your wallet. Although you can substitute canned or jarred truffles, truffles lose flavor quickly after they are harvested, so as fresh as possible is best. Although the recipe only calls for just one ounce of truffles for a serving size of four, remember truffles have a strong flavor and too much can overwhelm.

As Cyrus’s Executive Chef and Owner Douglas Keane specializes in an ambitious culinary style he refers to as "contemporary luxury" cuisine, which has a strong classic French foundation layered with contemporary global accents and an emphasis on seasonality. In describing his cooking philosophy, the he explains, "I try to pull the most out of each ingredient, capturing its essence and treating it with respect."

About the chef: Douglas Keane's interest in cooking developed when he was a young boy helping his mother in their Michigan kitchen, which led him to enroll at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, during which an apprenticeship took him to San Francisco's Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
After graduating, Keane headed to New York to cook at The Four Seasons, eventually working his way up to Sous Chef, Keane then next spent a year at Lespinasse under the direction of chef Gray Kunz, who became Keane’s greatest culinary influence.

Keane then returned to San Francisco to serve as Chef de Cuisine at Jardinière. He then took a leave of absence to serve as opening Sous Chef at Restaurant Gary Danko. It was there he forged a friendship with his Cyrus partner, Nick Peyton. After a while, Keane returned to Jardinière as Executive Chef. In 2003, Keane opened Market, a purveyor of all-American comfort food, in St. Helena with Peyton.

Cyrus Restaurant
29 North Street
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707 433 3311

Truffled Poussin with Potato Puree and Glazed Shallots is served at Cyrus Restaurant for $16.00 a la carte.
This recipe makes 4 restaurant servings.

This is a 3-part recipe:
Truffled Poussin
*Potato Puree
**Glazed Shallot

Truffled Poussin Ingredients:
2 boned out poussins (also called a spring chicken)
1 oz black truffles, sliced very thin

*Potato Puree Ingredients:
2 lbs peeled potatoes
1 lb butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp salt

**Glazed Shallot Ingredients:
12 peeled shallots
1 oz red wine
4 oz port
3 cups veal stock
1 cup water
2 Tbsp oil
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Truffled Poussin Steal This Recipe® Step-by-Step Instructions:
Slide the truffles in between the skin and breast meat of the poussin.
Keep covered in the refrigerator for a day. Note: It is best to do the first two steps a day ahead so that the truffle flavor will permeate the meat.
In a large sauté pan heat 2 Tbsp of oil until hot.
Salt and pepper the poussin on both sides.
Place poussin skin side down in the pan and cook on high heat until golden brown.
Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook on skin-side only until completely cooked, approximately 6 minutes.
Flip birds over and cook on flesh side for thirty seconds.
Serve immediately.

*Potato Puree Steal This Recipe® Step-by-Step Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Cover the potatoes with water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add salt after water boils.
Reduce to a simmer.
Cook potatoes until tender, approximately 25 minutes.
Strain the potatoes, place on a sheet pan and put in the oven for five minutes to allow the potatoes to dry.
Take the warm potatoes and place in a food mill with the smallest holes.
Pass potatoes directly into a saucepan.
After potatoes are passed, add milk and fold in with a rubber spatula while heat is on low.
After milk is added fold in cold butter a little bit at a time continuously folding with a rubber spatula.
Hold in warm pan until ready to serve.

**Glazed Shallot Steal This Recipe® Step-by-Step Instructions:
In a sauté pan with straight sides, heat the oil until just below smoking point.
Add the shallots and allow it to caramelize on all sides.
When shallots have a nice golden color dispose of the oil and deglaze with red wine and port
Add thyme and bay leaf.
Allow wine to reduce until sec on medium to low heat.
Add one cup of veal stock at a time and allow to reduce all the way down.
Check the doneness of the shallots by inserting a small paring knife to the middle, there should be no resistance to the knife.
Keep adding the veal stock until the shallots are soft (you may not need to use the water), this should take about 35 - 45 minutes.
Keep refrigerated until ready to use (they can keep for two or three days).
When ready to serve, heat up shallots in a small pan with liquid.

Steal This Recipe® Step-by-Step Instructions for Serving:
Place the *Potato Puree in the center of the plate.
Put the poussin on top.
Place three **Glazed Shallots around the outside of the plate and drizzle some of the shallot glaze around for a sauce.
If available, shave extra truffles on top and serve immediately.