The Brooks, Shawn/Rachelle, coq au vin

Team Mia caught up with old friends Terry & Judine Brooks. Terry is an author who has been touring over the last few months for his new book, so it's been quite awhile since we have seen them.

We met up at Ray's Boathouse, a Seattle insitution that is well known for professional service, great view and a commanding northwest seafood menu. I had a sablefish seared with seaweed crust that was deliciously delicate. Baby Crumpet was on her best behavior and devoured an entire bread basket by herself. Well, some of it ended up on the floor.

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Friends Shawn & Rachelle came by for dinner. Feeling inspired by the decidely fall season in Seattle (dark, damp, cold) I went gung-ho with a serious menu:

Gnocchi with creme fraiche, mead, shallots and chantrelle mushrooms

and

Baked rockfish with artichoke hearts and homemade vinegar (courtesy Don McQuinn)

It was good, but, a little too heavy....

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Since we're talking about food.

Inspired by an article in Cook's Illustrated I decided to try and make Coq au vin (basically chicken stew w/t wine; why does food sound better in French?)

First I seared bone-in chicken thigh in olive oil

then removed the chicken and added shallots, garlic, rosemary and leeks

then added some flour and pasta sauce (I didn't have tomatoes on hand), chicken stock, a bottle of wine (I used a 2005 beaujola nouveau) and bay leaf

Simmer for about an hour, then remove the chicken and cook the remaining sauce on high heat for a few minutes to reduce. Serve piping hot on steamed rice

Adrian & I both thought it turned out really well considering I didn't use either butter or bacon as the traditional recipe calls for. In retrospect I would remove the skin on the chicken to reduce fat. Also in re-heating for leftovers the next day I added brussel sprouts for 20 minutes and that was excellent. The brussel sprouts soaked up all the flavor and added great depth and texture to the whole dish - but be careful to not overcook it or it will turn into mush