Instead of the lowly "housewife cut," merely slicing the carrots into rounds, I followed Julia instructions and made the fancy "bourgeois" cut. This was a long wedge cut. You execute it by cutting peeled carrots in half lengthwise, then slicing the halves crosswise into lengths about 11/2 inches long.
Once again, it required a lot of chopping. But the results looked classy, middle-classy to be exact.
I cooked the carrots, in water and salt, using a method Julia called "boil-steamed," then finished with a little sugar, and, what else, butter.
Finally, when the chicken was out of the oven, resting on a cutting board, I made a deglazing sauce, with the pan drippings, chopped shallots, white wine, chicken stock and a little more butter.
The roast chicken was good, the carrots extraordinary, but the deglazing sauce stole the show. I have not been much of deglazer. But this sauce, with its vivid flavors, changed that.
Once again Julia taught me something new, another way to extract a bit of pleasure from spending an afternoon in the kitchen.
Clarification
The recipe for tomato pie in last week's column failed to mention cooking time. Bake in a 350 F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
