Coq Au Vin

After finishing off the last of the Boeuf Bourgblabla, we decided to find a recipe equally hard to spell.  The correct pronunciation for this one is “Coke-oh-vawn.”  This one we started a little late, and it was not without its problems.  For the most part, all of us had mentioned but had simultaneously forgotten to read the whole recipe before starting.  As a result, we had begun to work the recipe out one step at a time.  This was a bad choice.  This recipe also makes use of the Braised Onions and Sautéed mushrooms.  It seems they are very versatile.  They tasted great with this recipe as well.  One thing to remember is that you should always use the shallots.  They add a lot of flavor to the mushrooms.

We started out very jumbled.  The easiest part was preparing the mushrooms.  We needed a little more butter to cook them this time, but that only helped.  As Julia says, “more butter is always better.”  The onions turned out to be a little trouble, but it all got sorted out.  We placed the lid, which hovered about a half inch off of the pan, onto the pot, which must have squished the onions.  It was quite comical to see little telescope-shaped tubes sticking out of the little round onions.  Also, this time we found herb bags, which made seasoning much easier.

I didn’t have much to do with the chicken.  My grandmother worked on that.  I went around measuring out a bunch of ingredients we forgot as she browned the meat.  Cooking chicken is the least appetizing smell there is.  I had to plug my nose every time we walked past the skillet.  Once it came time to pour in the cognac, my grandmother shielded herself with the top of the skillet, while I hid behind a table.  We had to set it on fire to continue with the recipe.  The fire was very uninteresting.  Just shifting the chicken put it out.  We used nearly a whole bottle of burgundy as well.

I spent probably about 45 minutes shelling peas.  The result was about a quarter inch pile of extremely tiny peas that ended up not even being usable because I didn’t put enough water in the pot when I boiled them.  We used a can of peas instead.

The sauce was delectable.  It would go great on meatballs and bow tie noodles.  The chicken was great even for people who don’t like chicken.  The mushrooms and onions worked out perfectly.

I am really glad the sauce turned out good, too.  I spent another 15-30 minutes just stirring the sauce in the pan because a whisk would “take off the Teflon coating.”  The effort was worth it.

I’m totally packing myself a lunch of Coq Au Vin for lunch tomorrow.

For those interested, the recipe for Coq Au Vin can be found on page 263 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.

The onions and mushrooms can be found on pages 483 and 513, respectively.

Dang.  I’m hungry again!