Coq Au Vin Blanc

Don't you love it when something pops into your life unexpectedly like a breath of fresh air, eliciting a rush of excitement and appreciation?

A new grocery store opened up near my house and I feel like I've just made a new best friend.  It's different than any store I've ever been to.  

Founded in Germany, Aldi has been around awhile in the UK, but just debuted in the US.  I was thrilled to find that, much like World Market, Aldi stocks an amazing array of European cheese, chocolates and wine.

It's not large by any means and it is most certainly a "no frills" sort of place, where you bring your own shopping bags and pack groceries yourself.  Shopping carts cost a refundable quarter - an incentive to bring them back to the store rather than leaving them in the parking lot for an attendant to retrieve, and produce is set out in crates, eliminating the need for personnel to set out displays.

The brands are mostly unrecognizable, but if you're not brand loyal and are unafraid of trying something new, I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.  Major manufacturers of the brands we know and love private label to Aldi.  Try the Cracked Black Pepper whole grain woven wheat crackers...


All of these minimalist strategies translate into prices you just can't beat.  Kitchen staples like eggs, milk and bread, are at least half the cost of conventional grocery stores.  The produce is practically wholesale.  I'm talking baseball size avocados for .43 cents each!  


Their meat is was really impressed me.  Not only are the prices startlingly low, but the quality is fantastic.  

Between Aldi's crazy-low price on bone-in chicken thighs and and the recent gift of an eggplant-colored Le Creuset braiser, I was overcome with the desire to tackle (what I consider to be intimidating) - French cuisine.  A one-pot, warm and savory dish, Coq Au Vin.  

And not in the classic French style.  After last week's double batch of Bolognese, I am all tomatoed out, so I decided to create a Coq Au Vin Blanc, substituting Chardonnay for the traditional Burgundy and omitting tomato paste.

Below is the end result, and it was delicious.  I'm excited to share this recipe with you.

The key to getting a nice crust on the chicken is a good sprinkling of flour after the herbs and seasonings, and plenty of HOT butter and oil in the pan.


 















Laying flavors is key, so when you start with olive oil infused with natural sage, you are sure to achieve a stellar result.

 

 

Coq Au Vin Blanc

 

Ingredients

6 - 8 bone-in chicken thighs
3 celery stalks
1/2 fennel bulb
3 carrots
1 potato - diced
6 garlic cloves
3 shallots
1 jalapeno (optional)
1/4 lb mushrooms
1 C Chardonnay
1 C chicken broth
1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 C peas (optional)
2 T butter
2 T sage olive oil
1 T Dijon mustard 
1/4 C flour
1 t thyme
1 t rosemary
1 t sage
Lawry's seasoned salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat butter and oil in a heavy braiser on medium high heat.  Trim fat from thighs and season both sides generously with Lawry's, dried herbs, fresh ground pepper and flour.

Sear thighs until they develop a golden brown crust on both sides.  Deglaze with Chardonnay and cook down a few minutes.  Add rough chopped vegetables and chicken broth.  Cover and transfer to oven for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Return braiser to stove top.  Remove chicken to a plate and cover.  Bring vegetables and sauce to a boil over medium high heat, just a few minutes, until it begins to reduce and thicken.  Stir in cream Dijon mustard and peas, then simmer a few minutes longer.

Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

Chorizo Stuffed Acorn Squash

Nothing symbolizes the coming of winter like squash.  They arrive in the grocery store late summer in a variety of interesting shapes and shades of autumn colors that will pique OCD in even the most self disciplined of shoppers.  You cant buy just one!

And why should you?  They are relatively cheap, make great decorations and will last for literally a month on the counter.

And that's the beauty of the versatile winter squash.  They are hearty, filling and delicious, and by baking, roasting, mashing, whipping or sauteing, can be transformed into any number of dishes from main courses to desserts.

One Acorn squash is perfect for two.  I will stuff them with whatever I have in the fridge, but this quick Mexican version is an easy favorite.

Chorizo Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

2 acorn squash, halved
12 oz chorizo
1 celery stalk
1/2 red bell pepper
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1 T oregano
1 t cumin
1/4 C tequila
4 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 C golden raisins
1/4 C pistachios
1 t fajita seasoning
garlic infused olive oil
cheddar cheese
cilantro

Directions

Cut squash into horizontal halves.  You may need to trim the stem and bottom point so they sit flat.  Spritz with garlic infused olive oil and sprinkle flesh with fajita seasoning.  Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350 until flesh is just tender. 


While squash is baking, cook chorizo in a large skillet over medium high heat, breaking up into tiny pieces.  Add chopped celery, bell pepper, shallot, jalapeno, garlic and a few grinds of pepper and continue cooking until vegetables soften.  De glaze with tequila then cook until mostly evaporated.  Add oregano, cumin, tomato sauce, raisins and pistachios.  Cook until nice and thick.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

Flip squash over on baking sheet, fill cavity with chorizo mixture, top with cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Top with Lemon Chipotle Crema (recipe below) and cilantro.

Lemon-Chipotle Crema

  

Ingredients

 

1/2 C Fage non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 - 4 T Cashew Milk
1 t honey
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 t chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper to taste  

Directions

Whisk all ingredients until well blended.

Shepherd's Pie

Can you believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am still without my oven?  The long awaited igniter arrived last Friday and it was the wrong one!  I'm beginning to think that holidays, ovens and I, do not mix.  

Last Christmas, as a houseful of family and friends milled around nibbling on appetizers, I happened to mention to Ian that the turkey seemed to be taking too long to cook.

You already know that my husband is a self-proclaimed McGyver.  What you don't know is that his brother is not far behind.  No sooner had the words slipped out of my mouth than those two were in the kitchen, poking and prodding at my aging oven, trying to determine the cause.

Was the temperature gauge malfunctioning?  Was the door gasket not sealing properly?  How about this lever - what does this do?  And, with that, my brother-in-law locked down the oven door with the self-cleaning lever, trapping my turkey inside as the temperature skyrocketed up to 600+ degrees.

As you can imagine, pandemonium then ensued - the three of us panicking as we tried every which way to unlock the oven - to no avail.  Finally the Einstein of the group wrestled the oven away from the wall and unplugged it.  It took the better part of an hour to cool down enough for the self-cleaning lock to release and - Voila!  Problem solved.  The turkey was done, albeit a little extra crispy.

The temperatures were supposed to cool this past weekend, so I'd bought everything necessary to make my husband's favorite traditional dish, shepherd's Pie.  The plan was to light the season's first fire and settle in for a movie with one of the oldest comfort foods known to man.  

Oven or not, I decided to forge ahead and make this Shepherd's Pie.  A barbecue should suffice, right?  We shall see...

As I previously mentioned, Ian is from Scotland, and anyone who knows a Scotsman well knows that they are set in their ways.  God forbid he walks by the kitchen and sees me chopping celery, mushrooms or garlic for the Shepherd's Pie.

"Meat, carrots and peas - nothing else is in Shepherd's Pie!" he'll declare, then later, as he's scarfing it down, he'll grudgingly admit, "It's pretty good."

Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with lamb, but a 50/50 blend of turkey and beef works just as well.

 Adding tomato paste, Worcestershire and beef base give it a rich, depth of flavor.

 So into the barbecue this Shepherd's Pie went, and who knew?  It worked perfectly.

Shepherd's Pie is a hearty dish that pairs well with a rich, dark Zinfandel, in this case, Tobin James Silver Reserve.  Its robust, full bodied fruity notes compliment a meaty dish perfectly.

 

 Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey or pork
1 onion or 3 shallots
2 carrots
2 celery

1 C mushrooms
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 C peas
Sage infused olive oil
1 T Rosemary
1 TSage
1 T Thyme
2 T flour
3/4 C Red wine
1/4 C Sherry
1/4 C Beef broth
2 T Tomato paste
1 T Beef base
2 T Worcestershire
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

 

Over medium high heat, brown meat in sage infused oil, breaking into small pieces.  Drain fat.  Add chopped onions, carrots, celery, mushroom and garlic.  Saute until starting to soften.  Sprinkle with flour and cook several minutes.  De glaze with red wine and sherry and cook until mostly evaporated.  Add tomato paste, Worcestershire, herbs and beef base.  Stir until combined.  Add peas last.  Cook until nice and thick.

Pour into casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes, spreading potatoes to edges of casserole to seal in the meat mixture.  Sprinkle top with cheese and paprika if desired.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until hot and edges are bubbling.  Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Mashed Potatoes

 

Ingredients

3 potatoes
3 T butter
1/2 C grated Guyere cheese
1/2 C Greek Yogurt
Rosemary sprig
Scallions
Milk
Salt and Pepper

Directions

 

Cut peeled potatoes into 1" cubes.  Place in a pot of salted water with a sprig of rosemary and bring to a gentle boil.  Boil until potatoes are fork tender.  Remove rosemary sprig and drain potatoes.  Return to pot, adding butter and cheese.  Mash with Greek yogurt and milk to achieve desired consistency.  Add scallions and salt and pepper to taste.