The first dish I cooked in my Le Creuset had to be special. It sounds silly, but this is one of those kitchen pieces I have been wanting for so long. I needed a worthy initiation. What could be better to break in my classic French vessel than a classic French recipe? Coq au vin it was.
Now, there are a plethora of coq au vin recipes out there, from the simple, to the less simple, to the nostalgic classic. I, however, went straight for my copy of Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook. This is not a quick and simple recipe. It requires overnight marinating, 3 different pots/pans and several steps. But it's really not hard if you prepare and stay organized throughout the process. Plus, the recipe calls for 1 bottle plus 1 cup of red wine...so you have that remaining bottle to drink while you enjoy making classic, heart-warming cuisine!
It started with a chicken in a bath of red wine (every girl's dream, no?)...
the next day everything was the prettiest purple color.
well...not everything was purple. Here are the brown components, awaiting their fate. (Yes, those are lardons from our second batch of home-made bacon. I'm hooked! Must get more pork bellies to make more! I even gave some away as Christmas presents!)
the le creuset doin' it's thang:
Served up with some buttered egg noodles (admittedly I wimped out and used frozen...they were good, though!):
TOTALLY worth the effort. The flavors were so good together...the acid and fruity depth of the red wine, the salty bacon, the earthy mushrooms and the juicy chicken...there's a reason why this is a classic.
1 comment:
Somehow my cup of yogurt and handful of cereal pales in comparison. Looks DELISH. I am so excited for you with your new piece!
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