Despite my very busy schedule, I always welcome days when I
have the perfect excuse to really cook.
You see my hubby and I have the perfect partnership when it comes to
socialization. He loves to invite
friends over and I love to cook and prepare for them. Last night was no
exception. We had special people over for dinner. Although busy juggling my mommy duties and my teaching responsibilities, I was able to prepare a quick menu.
My menu included pumpkin soup, coq au vin, crown roast, and
baked potatoes with sweet peas. I served chocolate mousse and my
favourite brazo de Mercedes for dessert. I would have loved the frozen Brazo however we did not have the time to go to Alabang to make the purchase. I served these sweets together with coffee and chamomile tea with vanilla. For
drinks we had soda and wine (Burgundy and Red Moscato).
This time I will be sharing how I cooked my version of “Coq
Au Vin”. This dish is a traditional French dish .
Although the traditional dish is cooked using rooster braised in red wine (burgundy), I
chose to use chicken meat instead.
The ingredients are as follows:
1 – 1.5 kg of chicken meat
Half a bottle of burgundy (I used Californian, although
French Burgundy is highly recommended)
2 large carrots
A can of button mushrooms
A dozen of small white onions
Oil ( I used extra virgin olive oil)
6 strips of bacon
Bay leaf, thyme and parsley
Mashed garlic ( I used 1 whole garlic, although you may use
2 – 3 cloves only)
Salt and pepper to taste
Clean the chicken meat and place the pieces in a marinating
dish and pour the wine. Put the carrots, onions, thyme and bay leaf and cover
and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
When ready to cook, drain the chicken pieces and brown both
sides in olive oil. Set aside the pieces
by putting them in a big saucepan or cooking pot. Using the same oil, sauté the
garlic and the carrots. Once done, put them
with the chicken and pour the wine used to marinate the chicken. Bring to a
slow boil until the chicken pieces are tender, about 1 – 2 hours. Cook the
onions together with the button mushroom and combine with the chicken. Fry bacon strips and chop them to small
pieces and top the dish with parsley. Adjust the taste by adding salt and pepper.
Serve the dish with baked potato and sweet peas and your favorite wine. Bon Appetit!
