"Weeknight" Coq au Vin

I knew, going into it, that the allegedly weeknight coq au vin was probably not actually a weeknight recipe. That's why I cooked it on Sunday. And I wasn't wrong -- it took me about two hours from start to eating, and while I could probably get that down a bit with practice, it's not ever going to be a recipe I have time for most weeknights. That being said, there's a lot of downtime in this recipe, so if your problem with weeknight cooking is energy rather than time, it could work. Else, wait for the weekend.

It starts by boiling down a mixture of bacon and onion while the chicken roasts in the oven. I used pre-diced pancetta, which worked fine, but it may have been better to use actual bacon to get both a larger dice and a bit more fat. Once it had boiled down and the onions had caramelized, it's time to add the chicken, mushrooms, carrot, and wine. This is where it took me longer than it had to -- it took longer than 20 minutes for the bacon/onion boil to boil down and for the onions to caramelize, so I had to wait to toss in the chicken. Next time, it may work better to start the boil first (or maybe just have the onion chopped beforehand).

Complaints about prep time aside, I really liked this dish. The chicken was juicy with a nice depth of flavor, and the sauce was good. The diced pancetta was a bit chewier than ideal; again, next time, I'll use bacon. We paired this with sauteed cauliflower, whose subtlety matched well with the flavor-forward nature of the chicken.

Pop-Up Preview Dinner at Chez Billy

Courtesy of Prince of Petworth, Chez Billy is offering a second preview dinner at the Montserrat House. My wife and I went to the first one, and were quite impressed, not only with the charcuterie, as PoP points out, but also the cheeses. The various courses and wines were quite good and well paired, though it looks like they're doing a different menu from the one they did when we were there.

Chez Billy is a French restaurant looking to open up in Petworth in the next few months. Apparently the location was one of the few upscale restaurants for African-Americans back in the day. I'm definitely looking forward to checking them out once they open. You can sign up for the dinner here; the menu is below.

Chez Billy Preview Part Deux

 

Rouget
Mediterranean Red Mullet with Baby Beets and Turnips,
Parsley Puree , and Sauce Vin Blanc

Soupe de Poisson
Traditional Provencal  Fish Soup with Monkfish, Prawns,
Baby Squid, and Rouille

Maquereau
Pan Roasted Spanish Mackerel with Smoked Cauliflower
and Truffled Pommes Parisiennes

Fromage
“Selles Sur Cher” Goat Cheese with Homemade Walnut
Raisin Toast and Local Honey

Wine Pairings Included


Chef Brendan L'Etoile