Monday, February 17, 2003

I finally made the Coq Au Vin today, white wine version—“a country French classic, nothing fancy, but oh, so good!  Chicken braised in wine until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender.”  Or so says the blurb in Cuisine at Home.    Was it all that?  Surprisingly, yes.  It was flavorful and definitely falling-off-the-bone tender.  But nothing fancy?  I think in this day and age anything country French falls into the category of at least a little bit fancy.     The dish was a bit labor-intensive; two nights ago I was boiling and peeling the pearl onions, this afternoon, all afternoon, I did the rest.  Funny how 8 minutes of sauteéing this, five minutes of browing that, 2 minutes of whisking this or that adds up to a couple hours.   My celery was limp.  Previously this would have bothered me enough to rush off to the store for fresh, crisp celery.  Bundling up a child for miniscule errands is no fun, so I said to myself “I’m going to be braising this celery for an hour; it’s going to end up limp anyhow.  In it goes.”    I used the Pinot Grigio, though the author admitted he liked to use chardonnay because it isn’t too dry (tart). The Pinot Grigio was fine, though, and I think it would be fun to experiment with different white wines to see what I like best.  Without question, however, it was far better than any red wine Coq Au Vin I have ever made.  The sauce was thick and flavorful, thickened at the end by the addition of a little flour added to the porcini soaking water, and flavored by the onions, bacon, mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf and garlic.   It felt like a light, relative healthful supper.  We nestled the chicken right up against the mashed potatoes and covered it all with a bit of sauce, but I was careful to keep the potato portion small.  Green salad on the side.   Yes, into the repertoire it goes, into the category of something slightly fussy / special to make when an afternoon is free.     Next up:  Cod with Tangerine Sauce comment []8:49:29 PM     When I  started this blog and wrote about the things I struggle against in the kitchen, one of them was a Border Collie always smack dab in front of the stove.    But no longer.   Last May we adopted Seneca, a 5-year-old male,  from the humane society.  He rapidly became insanely attached to me, and loved other adults & older children, but he has never liked my little boy.  He growls at him.  He comes between us when I’m trying to get Kipp dressed.  I don’t know if it’s jealousy or what, but I was about ready to have the dog put down for his constant growling and my constant fear that the growling would escalate into something worse.    Then I thought, no, I owe it to this otherwise beautiful dog to find the right home for him.  So I placed an ad in the “shopper” that all the farmers read and I got three calls from interested families.    Kipp, Seneca and I piled in the car and crossed the Mississippi this morning.  We headed up into the bluffs of Laura Ingalls "Big Woods" country, and drove to a little hobby farm.  The farm had another young female Border Collie, about 12 sheep guarded by one llama, and kittens hopping about.  I think it will be a good life for Seneca.   And this frees us up to look for a dog that is devoted not only to me but to Kipp as well.  Everytime Kipp tried to hug the dog, Seneca would bare his teeth.  Dean’s constant refrain of “Kipp!  Leave the dog alone!” was becoming ridiculous.  What is the point of having a dog that a child is not allowed to love?   Now we will search for a better family dog.  Much as I love to help the humane society out, I’m afraid we can’t go that route again.  Better to donate goods for their annual auction.    There is a breeder of Australian Shepherds across the river.  We met her dogs when we boarded Seneca with her once.  It broke my heart to see Kipp playing happily with one of her beautiful Aussies, to see how it could be between a boy and a dog.    Let's hope happier days for Kipp are ahead. comment []3:40:10 PM

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