In the kitchen, he chopped two shallots and three cloves of garlic. He seasoned the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and took some of his homemade duck stock from his fridge. In the garden, he picked a handful of fresh tarragon, put some to one side for garnish and chopped the remainder. In a casserole dish he began gently to sauté the shallots in butter. Once they were soft, he added the garlic and the chopped tarragon, a generous wineglass of the stock and a less generous glass of dry white wine and brought it to a low simmer. Then he put the lid onto the pot and put it into the oven on high heat for fifteen minutes, then lowered the heat to medium. Another forty minutes and the chicken would be just right. — 189: 2708-2713
He splashed olive oil into a saucepan, added the rice and stirred until all the grains were lightly coated. He added boiling water and put the lid on the pan. Then he took out the casserole, removed the chicken thighs to a warm plate and covered them with tinfoil to retain their heat. The rice water was boiling, so he turned the heat down to a low simmer. Then he strained the sauce from the casserole dish through a sieve, poured the sauce into a sauté pan, added a wineglass full of crème fraîche and some lemon zest and put it on the heat for about five minutes to reduce. He fluffed the rice with a fork, put it into one bowl and the chicken with tarragon sauce into another and took them to the table, where the baron was pouring the Verdots into fresh wineglasses. — 192: 2750-2755