Coq au Vin

This coq au vin recipe is supposed to be ready in 90 minutes, but it took me much longer than that. I made the wine reduction sauce first in the morning and let it get to room temp; by the time Matt got home from work in the evening, I finished off the recipe. The result: pure deliciousness. I served my coq au vin over egg noodles, but you can serve it with a side of mashed potatoes, or even over rice.

Make sure you use a medium-bodied, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir or a Rhône Valley Grenache. Avoid bold, heavily oaked red wine varietals like Cabernet and light-bodied wines like Beaujolais.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 to 6)

• 1 bottle fruity, smooth, medium-bodied red wine (I used Pinot Evil Pinot Noir)
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 ounces bacon , preferably thick-cut, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed of excess fat and cut in half crosswise
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 24 frozen pearl onions , thawed, drained, and patted dry (about 1 cup) (see note above)
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms , wiped clean, stems trimmed, halved if small and quartered if large
• 2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring all but 1 tablespoon wine (reserve for later use), broth, parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 3 cups, about 25 minutes. Discard herbs.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large Dutch oven over medium heat until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons fat in small bowl; discard remaining fat.
3. Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of chicken in single layer and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining chicken and 1 tablespoon bacon fat.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add pearl onions and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and flour; cook, stirring frequently, until well combined, about 1 minute.
5. Add reduced wine mixture, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; add 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Return chicken, any accumulated juices, and reserved bacon to pot; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.
6. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to large bowl; tent with foil to keep warm. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer sauce until thick and glossy and measures 3 cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and reserved 1 tablespoon wine. Season to taste with salt. Return chicken to pot and top with minced parsley. Serve immediately.

Crepes

We had a end of summer festival at work several weeks ago and various food vendors came to our campus to sell their foods. One of the vendors (which had the longest line!) was selling homemade crepes, both savory and sweet. Well, my co-workers and I stood in line for what seemed forever but it was worth it. I got a lemon-butter crepe and a strawberries and cream crepe and they were divine.

I finally got the urge to make something last night for dessert and gave crepe making a try. I have to say making the batter is quite easy, the most difficult part, I think, was trying to get the pancake thin enough and being able to flip it. The recipe below is from Alton Brown and I used 2 ounces instead of 1 ounce, as he suggests. You can you any type of filling, but I went with an easy one: sweet sour cream and raspberry sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly (I poured 2 ounces). Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

Sour cream filling: Mix 1 cup sour cream with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp. vanilla. Set aside in fridge when ready to use.

Raspberry Sauce

• 1 pint raspberries
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

DIRECTIONS

Place half the raspberries in a saucepan with water and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and sauce is thick. Add the remaining raspberries and orange zest. Heat through at the lowest temperature setting. Top filled crepes with raspberry sauce and garnish with sour cream and fresh raspberries.

Challah French Toast

When my mother-in-law was here last month for my baby shower, I decided to make French toast. I bought a huge challah bread (if you can't find it, you can use brioche instead) and I also made maple roasted bacon. This French toast is really yummy and the challah makes a difference because the bread has a slightly sweeter taste and it really hold up well when you fry it. Yummylicious!

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (1/2-inch)slices challah bread
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Fresh fruit and real maple syrup for serving

DIRECTIONS

In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. Pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 minute.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

Ham and Brie Sandwich

When I first found out that I wasn't supposed to eat things such as raw fish in sushi, or cold cuts, and certain cheeses such as feta, queso fresco and brie because of the minuscule risk that they may give me listeriosis, well I almost died. Isn't it enough that I couldn't drink for 9 months? I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but so far so good. It's been 29 weeks and I have been able to deny myself all that food that I love...but I had an insatiable craving for brie the other day. I couldn't stop thinking of the brie sandwich my husband and I shared in Paris almost 3 years ago. But how could I recreate a similar sandwich without potentially contaminating my fetus with listeria? I mean, don't pregnant women in France eat brie? But, to be safe I created this sandwich. It was delicious and it certainly satisfied my craving.

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 sandwich)

• A demi French baguette
• Brie
• Thin sliced deli ham
• Dijon mustard
• Mayo

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the baguette lengthwise and smear a little mayo on one side and Dijon on the other. Place slices of brie on one slice of bread and top with several slices of the thin sliced ham. Bake the sandwich, open faced, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until brie begins to get melty. Then top the sandwich and squish it a little and bake another 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and slightly cool before eating with faux red wine, a.k.a. grape juice.