StarNosedMole
Oct. 22nd, 2023 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoToday we managed to get ourselves to church at 11. Barely. Nine am always seems like a nice option in theory, but in practice, it is almost never a real possibility. I changed into my grubby work clothes as soon as we got home, in the hope that I might get outside and do some yard work before a previously schedule activity later in the afternoon. But alas, no. I had forgotten about that rooster . . . . Some time ago (not yesterday) the Crane Dance ladies sweet-talked the Sparrowhawk into buying a frozen rooster. A rather mature rooster at that. They claimed it would make wonderful stew or something, though they admitted it might be rather tough unless properly cooked. So this old guy had been hanging out in the freezer for awhile now, and yesterday I had rashly decided it was time for him to be put to good use. Thus, the chicken was thawed and waiting.
So I kind of partially dismembered it. I would have needed a cleaver to chop the breast into portions, and I didn't feel like getting out the cleaver, though I do own one. Then I read two recipes for Coq au Vin, and decided to ignore them, as one does. I did take note of the part about making mushrooms with some nice lardons, but I was honestly afraid to pour cognac over it and set it on fire. It is tiresome when the smoke detector goes off. So I just browned it hastily with onions, then poured most of a bottle of red wine over it and added a little chicken stock to make sure it was covered. And then I cheated and put in some carrots that were lying around needing to be cooked, and some leftover celery ditto, and some bay leaf, basil, and thyme. The recipe only called for thyme, but SOMEONE had put the lid for the thyme on the basil, and it was too late when I realized. Then it cooked for a couple of hours, and then I made the mushrooms and lardons, aka little bacon strips, and added that and cooked it a bit more, and boiled some baby red potatoes. We decided to eat it the easy way--take a fairly large bowl, put in a few potatoes and smush them with butter and salt, then pull out some of the chicken meat and carrots and put them on the other side of the bowl, and then fill it up with steaming broth full of mushrooms and onions. It was a little rustic, but it smelled heavenly.
So I kind of partially dismembered it. I would have needed a cleaver to chop the breast into portions, and I didn't feel like getting out the cleaver, though I do own one. Then I read two recipes for Coq au Vin, and decided to ignore them, as one does. I did take note of the part about making mushrooms with some nice lardons, but I was honestly afraid to pour cognac over it and set it on fire. It is tiresome when the smoke detector goes off. So I just browned it hastily with onions, then poured most of a bottle of red wine over it and added a little chicken stock to make sure it was covered. And then I cheated and put in some carrots that were lying around needing to be cooked, and some leftover celery ditto, and some bay leaf, basil, and thyme. The recipe only called for thyme, but SOMEONE had put the lid for the thyme on the basil, and it was too late when I realized. Then it cooked for a couple of hours, and then I made the mushrooms and lardons, aka little bacon strips, and added that and cooked it a bit more, and boiled some baby red potatoes. We decided to eat it the easy way--take a fairly large bowl, put in a few potatoes and smush them with butter and salt, then pull out some of the chicken meat and carrots and put them on the other side of the bowl, and then fill it up with steaming broth full of mushrooms and onions. It was a little rustic, but it smelled heavenly.
no subject
Date: 2023-10-23 05:45 pm (UTC)