Tonight's Dinner: May 23, 2012

We were gone all weekend so I didn't get a chance to grocery shop.  It has been an "eat with parents" week. I did, however, have some chicken in the freezer and red wine from our dinner with some friends.  I've been trying really hard to not drink wine in the evening so the almost full bottle needed to be used somehow.  It really has helped my figure.

The first time I made Coq Au Vin was from a recipe that I saw on Brian Boitano's Food Network show.  His friend had marinated his chicken over night in the wine before cooking it.  I remember it being really good the first time I did it for my parents.  This time around I used Julia Child's recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  It did not call for 24-hour marinating.  Now I know why.  The chicken was entirely too wine-y.  I didn't know it was possible.  The sauce, however, was to die for.  It was so good.  The sauce was a little thicker than Julia described and could have easily been remedied with a little more brown stock, but I like my sauces thick to coat my pasta.  It's meals like this that I'm thankful for being able to go to nice restaurants.  If I hadn't been introduced to French cuisine this never would have appeared in my kitchen.