The name of a garnish for small cuts

Welcome to Cheftalk Patrik,

Wonderful dish.

I know this dish as artichoke bottoms filled "Macedoine"  (is that the term ?), then Bearnaise sauce and beef marrow thinely sliced or cubed.

If this is not what you were looking for then maybe someone else offer an idea.

Look forward to more posts.

Petals

Massena

 Macedoine is a mixture of small or cut-up fruits or vegetables.

Macedoine is the term , but it does not always apply to meat. There is a vegetable macedoine as well..  A bag of frozen mixed veges is actually a Macedoine.. Some people cut it in a cut called Brunoise" which is small dice.

This is "a la Beaugency" as I know it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazza 

This is "a la Beaugency" as I know it.

Bazza!

Sorry to disagree with you but the term " A La Beaugency" is  a garnish for a Poached Egg dish>  It's Bone Marrow, Artichoke, and Topped with a Bernaise Sauce.

I wasn't 100% sure chef but after some research I have found that Cheflayne is the closest, according to Larousse.

Massena

A method of preparing sauteed steaks or lamb noisettes, in which the pan is deglazed with Perigueux sauce and the garnish is artichoke hearts and slices of poached beef marrow bone. (No bearnaise sauce) However, soft cooked eggs Massena are served with artichoke hearts and bearnaise sauce and topped with slices of bone marrow.

Macedoine is simply diced vegetables with butter or cream added.

I cannot find much on Beaugency other than this link which shows the same three ingredients with tomato;

http://www.richard-binns.co.uk/pdf-file/glossary.pdf

Beaugency is a garnish for sauteed meats. It is artichoke bottoms with tomato fondue, topped with slices of blanched beef marrow,

Massena is a garnish for grilled or sauteed meats. It is artichoke bottoms with bernaise sauce and slices of poached beef marrow placed on the meat.

Thank you so much for clearing up the definition.

@ Bazza : appreciated the info.

FWIW : I was focused on the filling and not the garnish when describing the dish. It is dish that one of  my friends serves ( his garnish for Marrow) and when I asked him about "Massena" even he could not recall it. It is a term you do not see often.

@ Patrik : would love to know your seasoning of the meat and plating.....

Interesting thread and thanks cheflayne. Would also like to hear back from the OP.

Now I have looked up the definition and both Chef layne and my definition are correct.

    Beaugency is an area  in France in the Loire Valley.

Everything served on menues there is A La Beaurency be it eggs, steaks, chops, with the proviso it goes with marrow and artichoke, the sauces used depend on the entree a la Beaugency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefedb 

Now I have looked up the definition and both Chef layne and my definition are correct.

    Beaugency is an area  in France in the Loire Valley.

Everything served on menues there is A La Beaurency be it eggs, steaks, chops, with the proviso it goes with marrow and artichoke, the sauces used depend on the entree a la Beaugency.

Beaugency is a city.

The typical Beaugency garniture is artichoke, bearnaise and marrow, more rarely, artichoke, tomatoe fondue and marrow.

Massena is artichoke, sauce Perigueux and truffles.

from Escoffier:

"Tornedos Massena

   Season the tornedos and fry them in butter; arrange them on fried bread slices of the same size, and, in the middle of each tournedo, set a large slice of poached marrow.

   Surround with a row of small artichoke-bottoms, garnished with very stiff bernaise."

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheflayne 

from Escoffier:

"Tornedos Massena

   Season the tornedos and fry them in butter; arrange them on fried bread slices of the same size, and, in the middle of each tournedo, set a large slice of poached marrow.

   Surround with a row of small artichoke-bottoms, garnished with very stiff bernaise."

One thing to note about Escoffier: he isn't necessarily the best resource when looking for info on regional French cuisines. For example, he describes a "Gratin Dauphinois" in his "Guide Culinaire" which he makes with eggs and gruyere cheese. The gratin Dauphinois contains neither, Gruyere is not a local cheese in the Dauphine, and there's no eggs either in a Gratin Dauphinois, which is a peasant dish - peasants didn't have money to spend on Gruyere cheese which wasn't even available locally, nor on eggs etc... ask any local from the Dauphiné and they'll tell you (I'm one of them). The gratin he describes is closer to a "Gratin Savoyard".

Having said that, I've looked at a few more resources and I agree Massena vs Beaugency seems to be more confusing than I thought at first.

Even Escoffier in my Guide Culinaire lists Sauce Perigueux as an accompaniement to a Tournedos Massena which is otherwise described as you say, with Bearnaise and marrow.

My Larousse Gastronomique says Massena is Sauce Perigueux, artichoke and marrow, although for eggs, it replaces the Sauce Perigueux with a Sauce Bearnaise.

This professional French restaurantion site puts both a tomatoe fondue AND a Sauce Bearnaise on a Massena egg. http://www.restocours.net/Bep1/Aps/oeufs%20et%20potages.htm

Confusing.

Guide Culinaire is still considered the Bible. Even when I worked in Europe many years ago it was # 1 refered to by most of the chefs I worked under. It is Sauce Perigueux only when made from that type truffle

Well what can I tell you, maybe it's considered a bible but it's wrong in some of the descriptions of regional dishes. Keep in mind that in Escoffier-era, people hardly traveled around France and regional cuisines weren't well known. AFAIK Escoffier was the first to attempt to catalog them, and did an absolutely amazing job at it, albeit with some mistakes here and there.

 ???

Then who is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheflayne 

 

 ???

Then who is?

Since Escoffier wrote his guide culinaire, the face of cooking has changed considerably in France. Automobiles have become mainstream, tourism developed, Michelin helped bringing attention to restaurants that were off the beaten path and serving very local, regional cooking previously barely known. Those regional cooking have now been studied and analyzed by many chefs from other regions who have now added them to their menus. As a result, the cooking from those regions is much better known today than it was in Escoffier's time. Many books have been written that specialize in the cooking of certain regions. Usually buying a book detailing the cooking of a specific region will give you more accurate information than any attempt to catalog the cooking of all regions of France. But if you're looking for a single book reference, I've found the "Larousse Gastronomique" to be more accurate than Escoffier when it comes to French Regional cooking - even though it still has mistakes, it seems to have fewer of them. 

And obviously the best resource is still the region, the people and their stories. If you can travel, meet people and/or maybe even live there for a while you'll get a better insight in their food culture than with any book, old or recent. 

Escoffier was known more for developing the Brigade System of the kitchen  perhaps even more then his book.. However when I worked over there they all refered to Guide Culinaire, and told me to study it well.

HP Pallapratt also wrote a greatook called Modern French Culinary Art hich I would rank way up there.

 I definitely concur with your opinion on the Pellapratt book. It is a valued member of my library and an oustanding reference source. Incidently, he echoes Escoffier on what a Massena garnish is for small cuts of meat.