Today's task in this project of virtually backpacking through Europe was to make a meal from #France. Before I get into the recipe, I have to share a couple of things with you about it. I have not really mentioned it yet in these recipes, but when I started this project back in January of this year, I was - decidedly - a bad cook. I was not just bad, but very reluctant, and even having to make anything in the kitchen made me very anxious. I could do lots of things in life, and cooking was not one of them. In fact, as a kid I was much more interested in reading a book than in learning to cook, and no one ever wanted to push the issue.
I started this project with this mindset. And, to be honest, the first few weeks of this project I saw as fun (I loved reading the books, I loved learning to build this website, I loved thinking about where I would visit if I got a chance to visit each country in real life), but the meal was much more about eating the meal. Making the recipe was something I just had to get through. Being in the kitchen gave me the same kind of anxiety that it always had.
BUT THEN, it dawned on me that the pandemic is the perfect opportunity for me to relax, and to learn this in a new way. My husband is on work Zooms all day... my daughter is on school Zooms... and me... I have all the time in the world, and the only place I can go here in Berlin is, quite literally, the grocery store. I also realized that I had trapped myself in a loop. I was anxious about cooking, and all my life, I had been SO BUSY, so I would leave it to the last minute. Rushing through a recipe is the easiest way to increase our anxiety about it!
And so, I slowed... way down.
I started thinking about and researching the meal days in advance. I wrote it out long-hand so that I would be sure to not miss any steps that required special, hard to find ingredients, or that took an extra long time. I highlighted and underlined, and became super familiar with the recipes before I started (instead of my typical approach of reading through them for the first time as I was making them - haha). I gave myself lots of extra time to get through the recipe. I did all my prep and chopping, and pulled out all my pans and utensils before I started and I lined everything up. I measured twice and cut once.
And, something amazing started to happen! My heartrate slowed. I could hear and tap my foot a bit to the regional music I had picked out for the week. I could smell and taste my progress along the way. I could start to time the side dishes better so that they lined up with the main course. I actually found myself smiling a bit!
This part of my project has been the most unexpectedly transformative for me. It has given me a new relationship to food, not just how to cook, but how to relax, how to season, how to understand its origins and its connection to the world around it.
And so, when we got to France week, I was ready to take a step I had not anticipated ever wanting to take... I was ready to take on Julia Child's Coq au Vin! When the idea first came to me, I initially balked. But then, I realized, I am ready for this... this project has transformed me and prepared me, and... it doesn't matter how it turns out (though, I hope it turns out delicious!)... it felt like a great step to take.
So, with Julia in my heart, I decided to be kind to myself, relax, and to have fun with it. And, I did!
As Julia Child herself was quoted as saying, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you've got to have a What-the-Hell attitude." So, on that note, I say, "What the hell - let's do it!"
COQ AU VIN
Total Time: Approximately 1.5 Hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 slices - thick cut Bacon
3 lbs Chicken Breasts and Legs, skin on (2 Breasts and 2 Drumsticks)
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 teaspoons Minced Garlic (1-2 Cloves)
2 Bay Leaves
1 sprig of Rosemary, minced
2 cups of French Red Wine (Preferably Burgundy; Cotes du Rhone; or Pinot Noir)
2 cups of Chicken Broth
2 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons Flour
10 ounces sliced Mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt (or, to taste)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Fry the bacon over medium heat in a dutch oven or large, heavy bottomed pot. After it's fried, remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Once cool, chop and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot.
Turn heat to high and place the chicken, skin-side-down, in the same pot. Sear until golden brown on both sides (about 8 minutes). Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary. Continue sautéing until the onions begin to soften (about 6 minutes).
Add chicken broth and red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, carefully remove chicken from the pot and place in an oven safe dish. Keep chicken warm in the oven while working on the sauce.
Stir the flour and the butter (the butter should melt instantly in the pot) into the red wine sauce. Bring back to a boil and stir constantly as the sauce begins to thicken. Add mushrooms, chopped bacon, salt and pepper and continue for 10-12 minutes. Note that the sauce will also thicken as it cools.
Place the chicken back in the sauce and serve.
All three of us raved about this meal and really enjoyed it. It was so delicious and seriously worth the effort (and, in the end, even though it was intimidating to consider making, once I did it, it honestly was not that difficult). I am sure that if I make it again in the future, it is the type of meal I will improve upon my own technique. I am glad I did it, and I highly recommend you give it a try as well!
I served it with asparagus with hollandaise sauce; a French baguette with oil and vinegar for dipping; and macarons for dessert. I got the macarons at a sweet French bakery down the street from us, and sadly, they took a beating in my bag on the way home! But, they were still a delicious end to the meal!
Let me know what you think in the comments below once you've had a chance to try it!
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