Coq au Vin from @MaddieDayAuthor plus #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here. I'm super excited to launch a new series in eleven days! Murder Uncorked is the first Cece Barton Mystery and takes place in northern California wine country.

Our New England weather recently turned much cooler, and I made a big pot of Coq au Vin for a group of women friends. The Flick Chicks have been meeting to drink wine, eat high-fat appetizers and dinner, and sometimes watch a movie for over thirty years, and it was my turn to host. 

What better to serve them than a chicken stew flavored with red wine? Alas, no picture of us with our full plates!

And, while Cece herself is a pescatarian - a vegetarian who also eats seafood - and wouldn't touch a chicken-based dish, I thought this was a great recipe to share with you all. Because wine! 

I have one last advance copy of Murder Uncorked to a commenter, and I'll send another reader one of my special Murder Uncorked wine bags (wine not included...). If you don't drink, you can carry soda or a baguette and a bunch of flowers in the tote, or give it to an imbibing friend.

I adapted this recipe from Julia Child's classic. It has a few steps, but isn't hard at all. Like many stews, it's almost better the next day.

Coq au Vin

Ingredients

1/2 cup lardons (2 rashers of bacon cut into 1/2" ribbons)

2 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs and breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (1-2" square)

Salt and pepper

1 onion, minced

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup brandy

2 cups red wine

2 cups brown chicken or turkey stock

6 cloves roasted garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste (not shown in photo)

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a big Dutch oven and saute lardons for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a dish.

Wait for pan to reheat to moderately hot. Add some of the chicken, not crowding the pieces. Let brown, turn, and let other side brown. Remove to a large plate and repeat browning until all is done. Return all chicken to pan.

In a separate skillet, melt butter on a medium heat. Add onions and saute for several minutes. Add mushrooms and cook together until both vegetables are wilted. 

Add to chicken pot. Pour in brandy (or cognac), shake pan a few times, and ignite alcohol with a match or long lighter. Let flame a minute, then extinguish with pan cover. Lower heat to medium low. Sprinkle chicken with flour and turn to make sure all is coated.

Stir in wine, stock, lardons, garlic, and tomato paste. Add minced rosemary and parsley. Cover and simmer slowly for 25-30 minutes. 

Adjust salt and pepper. Simmer another five minutes. 

If sauce is too thin, boil rapidly to reduce, stirring frequently. If it's too thick, thin out with spoonfuls of stock or wine.

Enjoy with buttered, herbed fresh potatoes or with crusty bread.

Readers: What's your favorite chicken stew or recipe featuring wine (or both)? I'll send one commenter a wine tote and the ARC of Murder Uncorked to another. To enter the giveaway, be sure to leave your email address.

🍷🐔 📚

My next book to release is Murder Uncorked featuring my new wine bar manager Cece Barton.

Check out all my writing!

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Joyeux Noel

Contest Update...

Before I get started, I'd like to remind everyone that we will be announcing the newest winner in our Williams-Sonoma gift card contest very soon. Carol won the first week, and Rebecca won the second week. Who will be our lucky reader this week? Stay tuned to find out! ;-) And don't forget to leave a comment below (or via e-mail if the comment-leaving doesn't work) to be entered into this week's drawing for a $25 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card!

Best of luck!



In a bit of a departure from the norm here, rather than share a recipe with you, I'd like to share an experience and ask for your help.

The "headline" for this post is

Joyeux Noel

As you know, this is French for Merry Christmas. No, I'm not starting my cookie baking early ;-) But I am celebrating.

After being married for ::ahem:: years, gift-giving becomes difficult. What do you give your spouse during traditional celebrations that you haven't already given a hundred times? My husband put it succinctly when he told me: "You're so hard to buy for because you're not much of a flower or jewelry girl. You're a food girl." He's totally right. Take me out for a stellar dinner, and I'm in heaven. I love going out. And although the food is a major consideration, it's all about the experience.


So, for Christmas 2008 we decided to forgo the same-old, same-old, and decided that our gift to one another would be to try out a *new* restaurant every month. We have our favorites, of course (stories for another time), but we intended to stretch ourselves and seek out places we never knew existed. We alternate months and my husband picked his six choices right at the start. I decided to choose my six one at a time. This has been loads of fun! Every month we find ourselves at a brand new restaurant, clinking our glasses together and wishing each other a Merry Christmas.

This past Saturday, August 15th, was my month and after seeing Julie and Julia during the week, I was inspired to seek out French cuisine.


Marche restaurant is on Randolph Street in an area of Chicago known as the West Loop. Back when I was going to college in Chicago, I would have taken great pains to avoid this area but now I can't wait to get back there to try out some of the other nifty places I spotted. The neighborhood is vibrant, exciting, and up-and-coming, helped in no small part, I'm sure, by the presence of Oprah's Harpo studios, just a few steps away.

This is the view looking east on Randolph.

The restaurant is spacious and airy. Upside-down umbrellas (parapluie) dot the tall ceiling, while masks, mirrors, and Harlequin characters decorate the walls. The tables are on several different levels and the service is cheerful and attentive. But wow - the food. We split two appetizers: their "beautiful soup of the day," a tomato-gorgonzola-olive oil-basil-chive concoction which took my breath away; and a Voul-au-vent des Champignons - a puff pastry with mushrooms. "What is that flavor?" I kept asking my husband. We tried to decide which of the two we liked better, but could not. This was *exquisite* food.

Next came the entrees. Having just seen Julie and Julia, I'd intended to order Boeuf Borguignone, but alas it wasn't on the menu. I opted for Coq au Vin. The chicken was very good (maybe a tad dry), but my husband's Braised pork shoulder over cabbage was beyond description. I wish I would have ordered that. Maybe next time ;-)




For dessert we shared a chocolate trio (flourless chocolate cake, orange ice cream in a crispy chocolate shell, and chocolate-raspberry mousse) and decided that -- clearly -- of the 8 restaurants we've visited so far this year, Marche is our new favorite.

That's me after dinner, taking my leftover Coq au Vin home. There was nothing left of anything else ;-)

See that contented look on my face? It masks the determination I'm now experiencing in my desire to recreate the tomato bisque and the mushroom appetizers at home.

Here's where I need your help.

I'll bet many of you out there have made one or both of these appetizers. If you have, and if you know of similar recipes, please, please share! I can tell from all the great comments and e-mails we receive that we have an amazing group of foodies out there and I hope to draw on this vast collection of knowledge.

Sure I can call the restaurant and ask. But isn't this way more fun?

I plan to start experimenting soon -- any and all help will be appreciated. If you like, leave a comment below to direct me to a link (this will enter you in our contest, natch), or just e-mail me directly at JulieHyzy (at) AOL (dot) com or via my website www.juliehyzy.com


Thanks so much!!

Julie

Julie Hyzy’s White House Chef Mystery series features State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef, and Eggsecutive Orders (coming in January). All from Berkley Prime Crime.

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