Coq au Vin

Ingredients:  I used plain ol' bacon instead of cubed bacon or pancetta, and I omitted the pearl onions, but only because they are never available here in Manila.  And here's the story with the brandy:  I didn't have brandy in the house, but, once again, waited until the last minute to prep everything, so went to the local grocery.  What I wanted was a mini of a decent brand of brandy, but that wasn't an option.  I could get a fairly sizable bottle (a fifth?) for $5 - 10, but I didn't want a huge bottle of mediocre brandy.  I found another section of the grocery that had smaller bottles of brandy (non minis, maybe pints?), but here's the scary part. . .it cost FIFTY CENTS.  Holy crap!  Bottles of brandy for FIFTY CENTS?  Well, I knew THAT wouldn't enhance the recipe, so I just left it out.

Help from Gigi:  None!  I really did this one all by myself.  Hmm.  That might be a lie.  Maybe she helped cook the potates for the mashed potatoes, which I served as a side.

So, I wasn't sure how this one would go over with the kids, I wasn't even sure that I would be able to get them to try it, but I made it anyway, because that's what you do when you blog with the Contessa.

When I made the Vegetable Pot Pie, I felt that the addition of Pernod made a significant difference in the outcome.  I have a feeling that brandy probably would have made a significant difference, but there was no way I was putting 50 cent brandy into my food, so I skipped it.  You know. . .I think I'll make this again soon (I have some wine to use), so maybe I'd better start looking for palatable brandy.

And then there was another issue:  color.  The picture of the Coq au Vin from the Food Network is a nice golden color.  I found something, somewhere that said you can prevent this by properly browning the chicken.  Well, I was in a hurry, so this didn't happen, and we got purple chicken.  It tasted great, and I got the kids to eat it, but I would have preferred golden to purple.

I served it with mashed potatoes.  You know, everything tastes better with mashed potatoes.

Coq Au Vin

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
• 1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
• 1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Herb Roasted Onions

Okay!  I admit it.  I haven't made this yet.  I have purchased the ingredients on multiple occasions, but then something always comes up.  Namely, that I want to serve the onions with some other dish that needs to be baked in the oven at the same time.

I promise to do this one soon.

Mexican Chicken Soup

Ingredients:  Jalapenos are hit-and-miss in Manila.  I used Thai chilis instead. Normally, corn tortillas are not available in Manila, but I had some (yellow, not white) in the freezer that my mom brought me

Help from Gigi:  I think all of my food prep!  My parents were visiting, so I decide to use her as much as I could.  She made some chicken stock, prepped the chicken, and chopped the vegetables.  And then she put everything in a separate container, which always makes me feel like I'm on  a cooking show.

Oh, sweet Ina, you've done it again.  The second Barefoot Bloggers recipe for November (which was supposed to have been posted on November 27th, and which I made on November 8th) was Mexican Chicken Soup.  Think chicken and vegetable soup with a kick.  But what really makes this soup special is the addition of corn tortillas that not only thickens it, but gives it a really great flavor, dare I say even a little bit of sweetness?  I have it bad for corn-based products, too, so I'm thinking that maybe I should start adding corn tortillas to everything I make.

By the way, I'm always so impressed by my fellow bloggers with their beautiful and well-lighted photos.  Well, I am always cooking when it's dinnertime, and the daylight has left us.  So my lighting is compliments of the two flourescent bulbs in my windowless kitchen.

Anyway, I found this recipe to be really straight forward:  no crazy ingredients and very easy to make.  For me, it had the added bonus of being liked by my children.  I did stray from the recipe in that I omitted the jalepenos (which in this case was actually Thai chiles), and added them separately at the end.  My parents and kids aren't big fans of spicy foods, so I figured it best to add them only to mine.

Aside from that little change, I made this recipe just as directed.  It's such a treat to find a recipe that: I could find all the ingredients for; and I could follow all of the directions for; I genuniely enjoyed and my kids didn't complain about either!

I loved this soup so much.  Despite living in a permanent-summer climate, my family eats soup about once a week.  Lest we get bored on with one soup, I like to have lots of recipes to choose from, and I'm sure that I'll be adding this one to my list.  

Mexican Chicken Soup

Courtesy of Ina Garten

• 4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
• 1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
• 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
• 6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas
• For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside. 

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

Has it really been two months (and 10 days?)

So sorry for the huge blogging vacation that I took.  I really have been cooking during this time, but my parents were visiting in early November, and then it was Thanksgiving, which just rolls us into the holidays and then everything falls apart from there.

Anyway, I'm going to try to catch up with my entries right now.  We'll see how I do.  

Happy New Year, by the way!