Our Favorite Coq Au Vin

02/19/2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

Our crazy Seattle weekend weather demanded warm comfort food. So between the repeating rounds of snow, wind, sunshine, and hail, I made one of my favorite dishes, Coq au Vin. I first fell in love with Coq au Vin when Mom and I made the recipe from the Time Life Foods of the World: Cooking of Provincial France. I loved making something so “exotic”! During my high school years, we frequented a little French café, and it was always my entre of choice. The entre was so popular, you actually had to reserve it when making your dinner reservation. I’ve had many versions of Coq au Vin from random French restaurants, during my travels. One of my favorites is from Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant in NYC, Les Halles. My recipe is from his cookbook of the same name. Bon appétit

Ingredients

1 liter, plus one cup of dry red wine

1 onion, cut into 1 inch dice

1 carrot, cut into 1/4 inch slice

1 celery rib, cut into 1/2 slices

4 whole cloves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 bouquet garni (instructions below)

1 3.5-4 pound organic whole chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 pound slab bacon cut into small lardons, about 1/4″ by 1″

1/2 pound small, white button mushrooms, stems removed (I could not find tiny mushrooms, so I quartered the ones I bought)

12 pearl onions, peeled (I hate peeling these – I used peeled, frozen pearl onions)

pinch of sugar

Boquet Garni

1 sprig flat leaf parsley

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 small square cheesecloth

1 small piece of twine

Lay the herbs on the square of cheese cloth. Gather up the corners and tie with the string.

Equipment

3 large, deep bowls

plastic wrap

fine strainer

large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot

tongs

wooden spoon

small sauté pan

small sauce pan

1 sheet parchment paper

whisk

deep serving platter

DAY ONE

Combine the bottle of red wine, diced onion, sliced carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns and bouquet garni in large, deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so it is completely covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

DAY 2

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Put it aside.

Strain the marinade reserving the liquids and the solids separately. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in the large Dutch oven. Sear the chicken on all sides turning with tongs, to evenly brown on all sides. Once brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the reserved onions, carrot and celery to the pot and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat evenly. Stir in the reserved marinade liquid and the bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken back into the pot. Simmer very low, slightly covered for about 90 minutes, or until thigh temperature reaches 165′ on a thermometer.

While the chicken cooks, sauté the bacon lardons in a small pan over medium heat until lightly brown. Remove to paper towel to drain. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and sauté the mushrooms in the same pan until golden. Set them aside.

In the small saucepan, combine the pearl onions, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add just enough water to cover the onions, then cover the pan with a circle of parchment paper the same size as the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water has evaporated. Remove the paper and cook until the onions are golden brown. Be careful as this happens fast!

Remove the onions from the pan, set aside. Add the remaining cup of red wine. Reduce by about half or until thick and syrupy. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

When the chicken is cooked through, carefully remove it from the liquid to a deep serving dish.

Add in the bacon, mushrooms and onions to the stockpot. Bring to a gentle simmer. Adjust the sauce for seasoning and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the sauce over the chicken. If the sauce is not a thick as you like, tighten up with a beurrre manie.

We typically serve this dish with fluffy mashed potatoes. Enjoy with a Washington Syrah and an arugula salad!

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. You will be happy you did.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening.

Laura

French Onion Soup on a snowy Seattle day!

12/10/2016 by Laura Leave a Comment

There’s nothing like a snow storm to make you crave hot soup and crusty bread. Dave loves French Onion Soup and we had never made it from scratch before. We bought the bowls a couple years ago and this was the first time they were used for their intended purpose! I am frequently inspired by the recipes posted daily by the NY Times Cooking team. This recipe is based on one posted by Melissa Clark. Melissa’s recipe gives directions to avoid broiling individual servings, with the pre-made cheesy crouton added after the soup is spooned into individual bowls. Great for a crowd and also useful if you do not have broiler proof bowls! I like to dish up the soup and place it under the broiler, the old fashioned way. As always, it’s nice to have a choice.

For the Soup

adapted from this recipe

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

4 pounds total combination of beef bones and beef shoulder

32 ounces of good quality beef stock

32 ounces of water

1 medium onion roughly chopped

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

8 thyme sprigs

6 medium onions, sliced in half and then thinly sliced

1 stick unsalted butter – 8 ounces

1/2 cup port wine

6 ounces baguette loaf, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

8 ounces Gruyère cheese

Brown the meat and bones in a few tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat in a heavy soup pot. Season both sides of meat generously with salt and pepper.

Once the meat and bones have been browned on both sides, set aside. If needed, add a little more olive oil to the pot. Add the rough chopped onion, carrot and celery and sauté until the vegetables are softened…about 10 minutes. Add the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Add the meat back into the pot. Add the stock and the water. Bring to a simmer and cook approximately 2 hours.

While the stock is simmer, prepare the onions. Slice the onions in half through the root end, and then thinly slice each half.

Set a second, heavy soup pot on the stove over medium heat. Melt the butter slowly in the pot. Add the sliced onions, and slowly caramelize them. Do not turn the heat up too high and do check / stir them frequently. It will take 45-60 minutes for them to caramelize completely. When completely carmelized, add the Port wine and season with salt and pepper.

When the stock has finished cooking, strain the liquid into the pot with the onions. You can reserve the meat for another use, or change it up a bit and add it to the onions and broth. We found this to be delicious and made the soup into a heartier main course.

Keep the soup warm, over low heat.

Slice the baguette bread into a thick slice, one for each serving. Ladle the soup into the serving bowl. Place a slice of cheese on the bread, place the bread on top of the soup. Add additional grated cheese to cover. Place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Garnish with a few thyme leaves. Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening!

Laura

Boeuf Bourguignon – Updated

08/30/2015 by Laura Leave a Comment

What a blustery, wintry weekend here in Seattle. We have not had heavy wind and rain like this for months. The weather put me in the mood for a comforting, hearty meal like Boeuf Bourguignon. I was really surprised when I brought this recipe up for reference yesterday. I could not believe it had been over two years since I first posted it! And, like may bloggers whose skills have improved over time, I was totally appalled by the earlier photos. So, here is one of our very favorite meals, looking a lot better than it did a couple of years ago.

Ingredients

Olive oil for sautéing

1/4 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (Regular “Sunday” bacon is ok too!)

4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes and patted dry with paper towels

Salt and Pepper

1 large onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced*

4 stalks celery, diced

6 sprigs of thyme

3 bay leaves

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley leaves, plus extra for garnish

1 bottle dry red wine, pinot noir preferred

12-15 small, button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

12-15 pearl onions – I like the convenience of the frozen ones

4 tablespoons of butter, divided, for sautéing onions and mushrooms

2-3 teaspoons of Bisto for thickening

Cook the bacon cubes in a little oil in a heavy Dutch oven that has a lid. When bacon cubes are crisp, remove from pan and set aside. Add meat in batches, not overcrowding the pan, and brown on all sides over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Remove from pan and set aside.

Turn heat down to medium and add onions, carrots, celery, thyme, bay leaves, garlic and parsley. (I tie the herbs together with a cooking twine, making it easy to remove the stems, when finished cooking.) Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer 5 more minutes.

Return meat to pan. Bring back to a slow simmer. Cover and cook about an hour. (Because I had extra cooking time available, I continued this phase about three hours. You could also transfer this to a crock pot and cook on low, 6 hours at this stage.)

In a separate pan, sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of butter until they are browned. Do the same with the mushrooms.

Add the onions, mushrooms and bacon to the pan. Return to simmer and cook an additional 30-40 minutes.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste. I chose to thicken the stew up a bit with, you guessed it, a little Bisto. Serve with mashed potatoes, great bread and a hearty red wine. My absolute favorite Washington Syrah, from L’Ecole 41 pairs perfectly with this dish!

Have a wonderful evening,

Laura

*Here’s a mini dicing lesson….

Peel the carrots and then cut them into uniform lengths, based on their thickness.

Slice the rounded edges off to form a rectangular carrot. Slice the rectangle into planks. Cut the planks into strips. Proceed to dice.

“Baking Chez Moi” a book signing and baking event with Dorie Greenspan

11/05/2014 by Laura 1 Comment

I was one of the 60 lucky folks to attend the outstanding Hot Stove Society event with Dorie Greenspan. Dorie included a stop at Hot Stove Society on her book tour for her 11th book, Baking Chez Moi, Recipes from my Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere”. First things first…. Hot Stove Society is a year-round cooking school operated by Tom Douglas restaurants. It is located across the street from Tom’s first restaurant, Dahlia Lounge, on the second level of Hotel Andra. It is a beautiful space for hands on cooking classes, as well as lectures and demonstrations, like the event with Dorie. It is a warm and intimate environment. I had the chance to say hello to Dorie before she began speaking. I introduced myself and told her I was a blogger. When I informed her of the name of my blog, she said “well what are you doing here?”. I assured her I loved to bake and was actually a quite accomplished baker and I appreciated her recipes very much. I also spoke with her husband Michael and asked him how he and Dorie managed to stay so thin and fit, in spite of all the amazing goodies Dorie creates. He informed me they subscribe to a strict “taste and release” policy! I wonder if their doorman is as svelte? Chef Tom Douglas and Dorie pictured below.

Dorie’s newest book is a peek into what people in Paris actually bake at home as well as traditional recipes from her favorite Parisian shops. Dorie told many delightful stories about the effort it took to gather the recipes from friends and friends of friends, as well as their reaction to seeing the recipes in the book. She talked about the history of the Tarte Tropezienne; a delicious cake like creation made from brioche style dough, baked in a large round then split and filled with pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. You can find some version of this creation in every pastry shop in St. Tropez, along with a picture of Brigot Bardot who named the cake La Tarte Tropezienne. Dorie informed us the new trend in Parisian cream puffs includes different flavored fillings and a crackle top due to the addition of a butter cookie on top, a delicious twist. Un Dimanche A Paris, or Sunday in Paris Chocolate Cake is from one of Dorie’s favorite pastry shops. The cake called for peanut butter, which is a rarely used ingredient in Paris and took Dorie days to find before she could actually make the cake. We were treated to these three desserts, prepared by the students from the South Seattle Community College Culinary School Pastry Program, and demonstrated by the director of the program, Chef Christopher Harris under Dorie’s watchful eye.

Yes, my serving of Tarte Tropezienne is missing from the photographs. I totally lost my mind and ate it without taking a picture first. What was I thinking? It was delicious!

The event ended with Dorie graciously signing our books. In my case, it was a total of three of her books. She is so kind, friendly, witty, and charming and spent a good amount of time talking with each one of us. I cannot wait to bake and share with you, from Baking Chez Moi.

Have a great evening,

Laura

Laura’s Boeuf Bourguignon

07/24/2013 by Laura Leave a Comment

I was flipping through recipes at the NY Times website when I came across Mark Bittman’s Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. What caught my eye was: TOTAL TIME 2 HOURS. “No way”, I thought. Most of the BB recipes I have made in the past require an overnight marinade, and 6 hours of cooking. Since it was Mark Bittman’s recipe, I decided to give it a whirl, with a few adaptations of my own, of course!

Ingredients

Olive oil for sautéing

1/4 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (Regular “Sunday” bacon is ok too!)

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes

Salt and Pepper

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 sprigs of thyme

3 bay leaves

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley leaves, plus extra for garnish

1/2 bottle dry red wine, pinot noir preferred

12 small, button mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half

12 pearl onions – I like the convenience of the frozen ones

Turn heat down to medium and add onions, carrots, celery, thyme, bay leaves, garlic and parsley.

Cook until all vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer about 5 minutes.

Return meat to pan. Bring back to a slow simmer. Cover and cook about an hour. (Because I had extra cooking time available, I continued this phase about two hours. You could also transfer this to a crock pot and cook on low, 6 hours at this stage.)

Add the onions, mushrooms and bacon to the pan. Return to simmer and cook an additional 30-40 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

I chose to thicken the stew up a bit with the Buerre Manie technique below.

Buerre Manie for thickening

2 Tablespoons of flours

2 tablespoons of butter

Knead the flour into the butter with your fingers. Make tiny, pea sized balls. Add two – three at a time to the simmering stew, until desired thickness is achieved.

Extra instructions here:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/saveur-100-beurre-manie

Mashed potatoes for serving – we like red potatoes. We do not remove the peels.

Enjoy!

PS – I hope you are noticing the improvements in the photos! I took an awesome (and FREE) Food Photography class on line at CreateLIVE this weekend. What an amazing resource. Check them out at www.creativeLIVE.com.

Chilled Cucumber Soup and Salad Nicoise with Salmon

07/10/2013 by Laura 1 Comment

Quite a few things came together, all at the right time, for this meals inspiration. Lettuce, cucumbers and green beans from the garden, 2 quarts of fresh chicken stock in the fridge, and really warm weather. Inspired by the fabulous cucumber soup I had at Les Halles the week before, I decided to give it a whirl. You will want to start early in the day, as everything needs to be prepped and chilled before serving.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

3 large, fresh cucumbers – peeled, seeded, chopped

1 large leek, cleaned and chopped, white and tender green parts

3 tablespoons of butter

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the chopped cucumber and leeks and sauté over low heat about 20 minutes. Do not brown, just soften.

Add two cups of chicken stock, and a little salt. Simmer very low, about 30 minutes.

Place mixture in blender in two batches, and blend thoroughly. Pour into bowl and chill until very cold. (I put the bowl in the freezer to speed up the process.)

Once the soup is cold, place it back in the blender. Add 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice, one additional peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber and 1 cup of heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Put back in fridge until ready to serve. Serve in chilled bowls and garnish with minced dill or mint.

For the Salad Nicoise

These are the basic ingredients. You will need to adjust the portions for the number of servings you need.

Small baby potatoes

Simmer potatoes until just done. Cool immediately in a colander with a little ice. Place in bowl, add a little of the salad dressing. Chill thoroughly.

Hard-boiled eggs – quartered and chilled

Tomatoes – quartered and chilled

Green beans – cooked and chilled

Sauté until just done, cool down immediately in ice water, drain, place in bowl and add a little dressing. Chill well. (I cook green beans as follows: heat a little olive oil in a skillet. Sauté about 5 minutes. Add 1/2-3/4 cup of dry vermouth, reduce heat, cover and steam until done. Season with salt and pepper. I also add dice onion in the first step, if having the beans on their own.) Your eyes are not deceiving you….those are purple beans. They turn green when they cook. My grandpa always grew that variety and I continue to do so today! We threw in a few wax beans as that is what was ready to pick.

Nicoise olives

Red onion, sliced into 1/4 round slices

Cold, grilled or poached salmon (or, traditionally, canned tuna packed in oil)

We always grill the salmon on foil coated with a little olive oil. Dave is really picky about the pin bones. I use a pair of very sharp tweezers to remove them.

Capers for garnish (optional)

Anchovies for garnish (optional)

For the dressing

1 cup fresh, fruity olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 clove finely minced garlic

1 Teaspoon dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Whisk all together in measuring cup or glass jar.

Assembling the Salad

Bring all your ingredients together. Make sure your bowl and plates are cold. Start with a base of lettuce. We are using romaine from the garden. Place all ingredients in sections around serving bowl. You can also plate individually, using the same approach. When finished, drizzle with a little dressing, garish with capers and anchovies if desired.