Coq au vin

While I was shopping for an enameled cast iron pot, I also did research on what we could use it for (I suppose the later should have taken place first. Now it sounds like I just try to justify the expense).

Coq au vin seems the natural fit. The phrase had such magic that it was constantly chanted in my brain before I even got the pot. *chanting* Coq au vin...coq au vin...must...make...coq au vin *chanting*

Tons of coq au vin recipes out there. The one we eventually used is from the book "Gordon Ramsay's Maze". But WAIT! there's one line in smaller font: "recipes by Jason Atherton". Normally I would smirk at things like this. Do people really have to capitalize their name/brand to that extent? As I quickly flipped through the pages, one recipe caught my eyes: coq au vin! *chanting* Coq au vin...coq au vin...must...make...coq au vin *chanting* Before I realized what I was doing, I already swiped my credit card. Heck! Now we really have to make coq au vin.

According to the recipe, the chicken needs to be marinated in the red over night. So we did the prep work while seasoning the pot before its first use.

TripleQ did the cooking the next day. Originally I planned to do some errands after work. Got a message from him,
"You'd better come home straight from work."
"Why?"
"It smells so good there might not be any left."

Lessons learned:

• Pearl onions look pretty and have the delicate taste, but they're labor-intensive and slightly expensive. We can live with only leeks, onions and shallots
• We did not discard the vegetables, as instructed by the book. Instead, we scooped out the veggies before reducing the liquid. After a steamy hot bath in the wine, chicken stock and bacon grease, how can they NOT taste good?
• This is peasant food which makes any king green with envy. And serve it with the veggies from the same pot.