Côtelettes à la Maintenon

Côtelettes à la Maintenon (lamb cutlets domed with Maintenon and gratinéed) teaches sequence: fry each cutlet on one side only, crown that cooked face, then let the hot oven brown the crumbs while finishing the raw face beneath. Turn the chop in the pan from habit and the dish loses its design. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: mark one side, and only one side.

The original entry assumed a saucier with Maintenon (preparation used in stuffing preparations à la Maintenon) (No. 226) already reduced and cold, meat glaze made from stock never off the fire, enough hands to shape brigade portions, and a finishing oven backed by a salamander. At home, one small saucepan, a skillet, a fully heated oven, and the broiler for a final breath of colour do the same work. The crown is scaled to eight rib chops for four people, while every part that defines the dish remains: the one-sided fry, domed garnish, fine crumbs with melted butter, the seven-to-eight-minute gratin, and buttered glaze served apart. The relay between stations was scaffolding. These steps are the dish.

The finished cutlets should arrive in a crown, their crumbs butter-gold, the Maintenon still standing proudly, and the glaze glossy in its own sauceboat so the crust stays crisp. The shaping is the step that matters most: keep the Maintenon cold and smooth it with a knife dipped in tepid water. If the dome slips, stop and chill it before crumbing. Ça se rattrape.