Coq au Vin Blanc; a beating heart and a question

Coq au Vin, Chicken Braised in Red Wine, is a French Classic.

Doing it in white wine, less so.

Doing it in a slow cooker is, well, shall we just say it’s something new.

When I first made it, braised as one should, I used morels.

When I decided to adapt this to the slow cooker I went in search of morels.

I found them…. for 500 euro per kilo.

Okay, so I wouldn’t use anywhere near a kilo, especially since they were dried, but still I did want enough to actually taste them, and at that price they were roughly $17.00 an ounce and I would want….

I used cremini mushrooms instead.

We were happy.

Coq au Vin Blanc, Slow-Cooker version

Total time: 6 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken thighs, skinned
  • 3 chicken legs, skinned
  • 2 cups (16oz, 500ml) dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) chicken stock
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 3oz (90gr) bacon, chopped
  • 10 small shallots, peeled
  • 1 rib celery, roughly chopped
  • 1 large carrot. roughly chopped
  • 4oz (120gr) cremini mushrooms, quartered
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 tbs cornstarch (corn flour, maizena) dissolved in 3 tbs water 

Coq au Vin Blanc

Instructions:

  • Pour the wine over the chicken, add the bouquet garni and marinate 2 – 3 hours in the fridge.
  • Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and fry until crisp. Remove and set aside.
  • Add all vegetables to skillet and stir-fry 2 – 3 minutes.
  • Add chicken stock to vegetables and stir.
  • Put vegetables, chicken stock into slow cooker.
  • Arrange chicken on vegetables in a single layer if possible
  • Add wine, bouquet garni, and bay leaves.
  • Top with bacon, cover and cook on low for 6 hours
  • 30 minutes before eating dissolve cornstarch in water. 
  • Add cornstarch mixture to slow cooker, cover and let finish.
  • When ready, remove to a platter and serve.

Print Recipe

Last week we went to Lyon for the Fêtes des Lumières  or Festival of Lights.

We came on on Saturday to discover the phone cable laying across the road.

That meant we had no internet, telephone, Netflix, etc.

I managed to find someone to complain to, as had our neighbor a day earlier and the crew was her bright and early to string a new cable and get us back online.

Once back online I discovered that I couldn’t access my blog – this blog. I could look but not touch.

As you can tell, I eventually got that sorted out and everything is back to normal (I think / hope).

But it’s late so the photos of the festival will wait until next post – except for a teaser:

This is a giant, beating heart sitting in front of a building flooded with red light.

With each beat the heart pulsed with color.

I was amazed that it sounded just like a real beating heart.

Then I learned that next to the ‘heart’ was a console for couples to put their hands on. The combined heartbeats are reflected with light and sound for a ‘personal love song’.

As to my question….

Is $85 the new $5?

Back in the beginning of time, some bright spark was selling Pet Rocks as Christmas gifts.

I remember thinking that no one in their right mind would spend $5 to buy a rock in a box…. But then it might just be the perfect gift for weird Uncle Al.

And $5 was cheap enough for a gag gift.

While we were in Lyon we saw on the news that in the U.S. another bright spark is selling pet rocks in leather cases for $85.

So….. is $85 the new $5?

Is $85 now considered a cheap gag gift?

Am I a few decades out of touch?

That would be a perfect gift for rich weird Uncle Al…. If I was in his will.

Hmmmm….. I could get a few morels for that $85.

Last update on December 12, 2016

7 thoughts on “Coq au Vin Blanc; a beating heart and a question”

  1. Katie we love coq au vin – I am sure in white wine it was delicious! Incidentally, the first time I ever made it was based on your original recipe – a true winner!

  2. This looks like the perfect recipe for my Christmas Eve dinner…and I’ll use criminis too.
    Never did understand the Pet Rock thing, but then I don’t have an uncle who needs a useless give…rich or not.

  3. $85 for a leather box with a rock inside?? A rock that isn’t a semi-precious stone? I think not.

    I LOVE the sound of this coq au vin blanc! We’ve been waffling about what to serve for Christmas Eve dinner. You have not helped with our waffling by adding one more dish to the list of possibilities!

  4. Phoenicia, it was – thanks 😉

    Thanks, Ina, that’s so nice to hear!

    Elle, hope it’s a hit. As to the pet rock….. Just say no!

    Kate, it was actually kind or eerie hearing heartbeats broadcast that loudly

    Penny, the white wine is great for those who have an aversion to the red color (I knew someone, once)

    Elizabeth, yes, for a rock…. an ordinary rock. The coq au vin is not ordinary 😉

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