# What's fer Dinner?



## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

I just had a Yuengling and a Chile Verde Burrito from Trader Joe's. Anyone having anything exciting for dinner tonight?


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I think we're going to a Spanish restaurant tonight. Either that or a Parisian/Moroccan place down the street.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

il sogno said:


> I think we're going to a Spanish restaurant tonight. Either that or a Parisian/Moroccan place down the street.



mmmm sounds nice! Details later eh?


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

Well, I was going to make Coq au Vin. I bought chicken thighs and breasts - my folks don't like dark meat. I opened the breasts, and discovered mold! :yikes: Ewwww. I just bought them today! Oh well, I still have the thighs. So I get the flour out to dredge the chicken in, it's full of little black bugs!!! 

I decided dinner tonight was cursed. 

I ate a Smart One's Three Cheese Macaroni.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

snapdragen said:


> Well, I was going to make Coq au Vin. I bought chicken thighs and breasts - my folks don't like dark meat. I opened the breasts, and discovered mold! :yikes: Ewwww. I just bought them today! Oh well, I still have the thighs. So I get the flour out to dredge the chicken in, it's full of little black bugs!!!
> 
> I decided dinner tonight was cursed.
> 
> I ate a Smart One's Three Cheese Macaroni.


Yikes, I have had both happen to me but not in the same meal! 

I used to make Coq au Vin. I don't make it so much nowadays because the recipe I use is complicated. Everything gets cooked like two or three times. I love to eat it though.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

That's disgusting! EEKKK! Was it from a major food store? I take it the flour was unbleached? That hapened to me one time when I was little; I opened the flour tub and out came a bunch of little buggies.
I've never had the Cog au Vin, is that chicken and wine?


EDIT: This is no longer appropriately placed in the thread since it follows the delicious description of your dinner. $42 is a fab price for all of that. My favorite and well priced restaurant has closed. They opened in the wrong area and while many commuted for the food you need some sort of local base to make it. I hope they reopen somewhere else. It was Italian and Middle Eastern food...awesome!
I think I may try to convince my hubby to take me out to our favorite Greek place either tonight or tomorrow.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

It's chicken cooked in red wine with vegetables and bacon. It's a darkly colored, full-flavored, substantial dish. Il Sogno cooks it masterfully. Even better than Sogno's French Coq au Vin is a Spanish version she made a couple of times. Hint... Hint...


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

Dunno, a husband comin' in to the Women's Lounge to tell the wife what to cook sounds like a recipe for trouble, 'specially when the wifey is a moderator. Jus' saying!


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

*Hmmpf...*



jtolleson said:


> Dunno, a husband comin' in to the Women's Lounge to tell the wife what to cook sounds like a recipe for trouble, 'specially when the wifey is a moderator. Jus' saying!



I had hospital food.... But tat's kay....I's du mast f teh cukin t hom. LOL...I actually had badly overdone and flaky pork chops with dry chalky mashed potatoes.....OH and a powerade.....Right now I'm on my second POT of coffee....Trying to decide if they want me to kill them or help them...because with several people right now it's a Toss up:thumbsup: Haldol is a WONDERFUL thing....LOL:incazzato: :incazzato: :incazzato: :incazzato:


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

I actually have a "quick" Coq au Vin recipe that is pretty good. I wouldn't want to compare it to a true cooked-forever-and-a-day Coq au Vin though.


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

I bought the chicken at Safeway - I'm pretty shocked it was moldy! Now that I think of it, I do think the flour was unbleached. It seems like I just bought it recently. Maybe it's time for new canisters.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

Hmm sounds like a good recipe -the mold of course. il Sogno do you think you could share the recipe?
As for the chicken, return return return! I had this terrible thought that other people might just cook and eat without looking inside....eeeeeeeewwwwwww.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

zeytin said:


> mmmm sounds nice! Details later eh?


We went to the Spanish place and had a delectable selection of tapas.

Spanish potato salad
Octopus Galician style (tender tentacles served over thinly sliced potatoes dressed with olive oil, paprika and lemon juice)
Mushrooms with garlic in a white wine sauce
Spanish Olives marinated in garlic and olive oil

Pollo Milanese - chicken breast pounded thin then breaded and fried in olive oil. 

$42.00 for two. I am stuffed.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

zeytin said:


> Hmm sounds like a good recipe -the mold of course. il Sogno do you think you could share the recipe?


I will post the recipe. Give me a minute... it's long and I'm not that good of a typist.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

*Coq Au Vin*

Ingredients:

3 T vegetable oil
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds cut into 8 serving pieces) rinsed, and patted dry
1 onion diced
3T all purpose flour
3 shallots sliced
4 garlic cloves sliced
2 cups full bodied dry red wine (Pinot Noir, Cotes du Rhone, Zinf, etc)
1 1/2 cups beef stock either home made or canned
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon glace de viande (see below)
bouquet garni (see below)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
20 pearl onions, peeled, toot ends trimmed byt left intact to hold the onions together
1/2 pound smoked slab bacon cut into 1/2 inch rectangles (sigh... I just use regular bacon sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
1/2 pound mushrooms halved or quartered to match the size of the onions
Parsley for garnish

1. In a large flameproof casserole heat the oil over high heat. Add the chicken and brown well on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and partially brown the other side, about 1 minute.

2. Add the diced onion and reduce the heat slightly. Saute the onion until it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. 

3. Sprinkle the chicken with the flour. Shake the casserole and turn the chicken so the flour mixes with the hot oil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flour browns, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the shallots, garlic, wine, stock, tomato paste, glace de viande, and the bouquet garni. Stir well and season with the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. (The recipe can be prepared to this point several days in advance of Mappy and me showing up fer dinner. ) Let cool to room temp, cover and refrigerate or freeze. Bring back to a simmer before continuing in step 9.)

5. Drop the pearl onions into a large saucepan of boiling water and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain.

6. Place the bacon in a medium sized saucepan, cover with cold water and over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Drain, rinse with cold water, and repeat this blanching process to extract the bacon's excess saltiness. 

7. In a 10 - 12 inch skillet, saute the bacon chunks over medium high heat until crisp on the outside, yet still soft on the inside. Drain on paper towels.

8. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan, add the mushrooms, and saute over high heat until browned, 2 - 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove the mushrooms to a bowl. Add the pearl onions to the pan and brown, stirring, 2-3 minutes, then add to the mushrooms. 

9. When the chicken is tender, remove it to an oven proof serving dish or clean casserole. Discard the bouquet garni. Strain the sauce through a double mesh sieve (I just use a strainer) and remove any fat remaining on the surface. The sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream. If it is too thick, add a little water; if too thin, boil it to thicken. 

10. Add the bacon, mushrooms and onions to the chicken, and pour the sauce over all evenly. Before serving, heat to a simmer for 5 minutes (on the stove or in an oven depending on the serving dish you are using). Sprinkle with parsley and serve. 


Glace de Viande:
4 cups beef stock

1. Remove fat from surface, if any. Boil it uncovered over medium high heat until only 3 cups remain, about 1 1/2 hours. Skim the stock as it reduces to remove foam and impurities. 

2. Strain the stock into a small heavy bottomed saucepan and continue reducing over medium high heat until the liquid thickens to coat a spoon, about 30 minutes. The liquid at this point should be dark and shiny and will bubble slowly. 

3. Pour the hot glaze into a heatproof custard cup or bowl and refrigerate. When cold it will be firm and can be easily unmolded. 

4. Unmold the glaze and wrap it well in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze it. To use, cut off teaspoon sized chunks. This will keep for many months. 


Bouquet Garni:

1 celery stalk cut in half
4-5 sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1. Place the fresh or dried thyme in the hollow of one of the celery stalk halves and cover with the bay leaf and parsley sprigs. 

2. Tie it up with a string. 



Bon appetit


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

That sounds awesome! Makes my quickie recipe pale in comparison.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

WOW! Thank you very much, that sounds awesome! My brother likes to cook so I may invite him over and we can make this together. He is an Italophile but I am trying to make him broaden his horizons!

[Hey Pedalista can you hear me???????????????]


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Ladies, get someone else to do the dishes and you're set. I'm serious. This dish uses up a mountain of pots and pans.


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