Julie & Julia Present Coq Au Vin

Well, actually it’s Randi and Kelly, aka BOOKmama and FOODIEmama. I was delighted by Randi’s proposition that during September, while she covers Julia Child’s My Life in France for her book club that I cover Julia in the kitchen.

Julia’s methods are the stuff of cooking: braising, brining, sauteeing, deglazing … and usually with a stick of butter and a cup of wine. I, like most cooks, admire her and her food tremendously. And what an honor it is to interpret her cooking for us, the real Moms out there trying to make a great dinner with barely time or ingredients to spare. My goal is to shave Julia’s best recipes of some of their time, and hopefully a bit of the fat, while still keeping the love for the food and the essence of flavor in the result.

This week I tackled Coq Au Vin. This translates to Rooster with Wine. Rooster, the oldest of its family, is typically a very tough meat. And the traditional Coq Au Vin method was aimed at cooking the toughtest parts of the toughest bird, or the thighs and wings, with a very long cooking process. Substituting a younger bird (chicken), and more tender cuts (legs and breasts) is a good start to a shorter prep time. I cut some other corners as well, such as omitting the “swirl the pan with lighted Cognac” step because, to make this real for real Moms, I want to 1) use only ingredients that you are likely to have at home and 2) remove the blatant safety hazard of trying to ignite flaming alcohol with a toddler pulling on your apron (yes, I get that most of you aren’t actually wearing an apron) and a 7 year old running through the kithcen chasing a ball. I also took out the part about letting it sit overnight because, let’s get real, a busy mom who puts over an hour’s effort into making a great dinner isn’t about to say “Let’s order takeout tonight, we’ll eat this tomorrow.” Who knows what tomorrow brings… today you’ve made dinner, you’re eating it. (Though I do have to admit the leftovers were better…. so just make a lot so you can have it two nights in a row.) Other than that, the resulting recipe is a delicious, accessible, easy-to-make Julia-inspired Coq Au Vin. Bon Appetit!

Coq Au Vin

• 2 lbs. chicken pieces, breasts and thighs
• 1 package thick bacon
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup bold red wine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup pearl onions, or 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 package button mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon bay leaf
• 1 package egg or other thick noodles

Cook noodles according to package directions. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes to remove salt. Strain. Brown bacon pieces in large pot or dutch oven on stove. Remove from pan. Season chicken with salt and dredge in flour. Brown chicken in bacon fat in same pan. Remove chicken and add onions and garlic to the pan, cooking until browned, approximately 5 minutes. Return chicken to the pan, and add broth, wine, tomato paste and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove chicken and turn heat back up to high, cooking until liquid is cut in half and a nice gravy forms. Reduce heat, and return chicken and bacon to pot, with mushrooms.  Simmer and additional 10 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

Tags: coq au vin recipe, julia child, Julie & Julia