Barefoot Bloggers: Double Feature
I have two Ina Garten recipes to share today.
First is Curried Couscous which was chosen as the first June recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers by Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester. I wasn’t sure I’d like this recipe going in because I’m not 100% fond of curry all the time, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
This was an easy recipe to make and it only took a few minutes. I changed some ingredients to match what I had on hand and it turned out great, I think this is a very adaptable recipe. If you don’t like an ingredient, leave it out or replace it with something else you do like. I used heavy cream in place of plain yogurt and chives in place of scallions. I honestly thought of using Key Lime Pie yogurt when I realized I was out of plain, but the heavy cream was expiring first so I went with that. I’ve mentioned before that I avoid going to the store like it’s the plague, right?
The curry was not overwhelming at all. It was just the right balance of spices. There were a lot of different ingredients going into this but all of them stood out on their own. I loved the sweetness from the raisins, the flavors from the curry and onions, and the crunch from the carrots all against the backdrop of the couscous which is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to center a dish around. This dish is perfect as a side or would work as a meal.
I probably wouldn’t have ever made this own my own so thank you Ellyn for choosing it.
The Magnificent Ina Garten’s Curried Couscous
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup small-diced red onion
Click here for directions
And now for the second show…
Eva of I’m Boring (I can’t help it, I love the name of her blog…she’s definitely NOT boring though!) chose these Outrageous Brownies that I ending up missing back in May. I had never made Ina’s brownies before although I’ve heard lots about them. I’d say they are one of her most well known recipes as they are everywhere on the internet, have tons of ratings on foodnetwork.com and I’ve seen them compared against other brownie recipes a lot when people try out new ones. Now, these are not for the faint of heart. She doesn’t call them “outrageous” for nothing. They were super chocolately and I could only handle a small piece at a time or I was overloaded. I don’t like nuts in baked goods so I left out the walnuts, everything else I followed exactly except the baking pan. A few years ago, my good friend Lisa gave me a Longaberger Grandma Bonnie’s Pie Plate for my birthday filled with homemade brownies. I’ve baked brownies in it ever since – more than I’ve baked pies.
Well, I was a little late on the Outrageous Brownie train but I have finally arrived! It was a sweet ride.
Thanks to Eva for pushing me to test this recipe out. I see a lot of workouts with my Cindy Crawford tapes in the near future trying to work off all those delicious calories. Yes, I said Cindy Crawford workout tapes. Circa 1992 & ’93 and still going strong, baby!
The Fabulous Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies
Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces
Click here for directions
Barefoot Backtrack: Croque Monsieur
First things first… Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails was up to select the first May recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers. She chose Ina Garten’s Tuna Salad. Now, I’ve already made the Tuna Salad in the past. The boyfriend loved it. I was so-so about it mostly due to the textures of the tuna and avocado together but flavor wise it was fine. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about making the required recipe until I saw a post about a new feature called “Barefoot Backtracking” where every once in a while you have the opportunity to switch out the required recipe for one of the ones you missed in the past. Woo hoo!
I haven’t actually missed that many BB recipes since joining the group – only four: the Butterflied Chicken, Real Meatballs and Spaghetti, Meringues Chantilly and Croque Monsieur. I knew without a doubt that the Croque Monsieur was what I was making for the backtrack. I got too busy at the end of April to get that recipe completed and I saw the posting due date come and go in a flash. Even still, this French version of a hot ham and cheese sandwich stuck in my mind and tortured me as I read through my Google Reader. 
Now, this isn’t the most photogenic thing out there but let me assure you that looks aren’t everything!
These were delicious. Crunchy toasty bread, mustard, tons of melted cheese, Black Forest ham and a peppery Cheese sauce…. MMMMMMM!!! I made them for an afternoon lunch on Mother’s Day and we really enjoyed them. The recipe called for Gruyère cheese which my little local store wasn’t carrying last week. I just used a regular $3.00 block of Swiss instead with no complaints. For the mustard I tried both a whole grain dijon as well as a spicy brown mustard. The ones with the spicy brown mustard tasted a little better. I would make these over and over again but next time would double or triple the amount of ham. One little piece of ham just didn’t seem to be enough on a sandwich smothered with all this cheese!
Kathy of All Foods Considered chose Croque Monsieur for the second April 2009 recipe. Check out her post here to see what she had to say about her choice.
The Fabulous Ina Garten’s Croque Monsieur
Book: Barefoot in Paris
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Working Girl
Rated 5/5 stars based on 68 foodnetwork.com reviews
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups) (I used Swiss cheese)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard (I used whole grain dijon and spicy brown mustard)
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin (I used Black Forest ham)
Click here for directions
Next time for Barefoot Bloggers it’s Ina’s Outrageous Brownies. Can you believe I’ve never made these before?? I’m looking forward to trying them out, I know many people use this recipe as their one and only brownie recipe.
Savory Coeur a la Creme
Coeur a la Creme is one of my most favorite things in the whole world.
I’ve made Ina Garten’s sweet version, Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry and Grand Marnier Sauce before and it ranks up there in the top five things I’ve ever made.
Ever.
So when Anne Strawberry chose Savory Coeur a la Creme for the April bonus Barefoot Bloggers recipe, I was all over it.
I whipped this up in only a few minutes then balled it up inside a cheesecloth and placed it in a bowl in the fridge. Ina’s sweet version didn’t have any excess moisture drip out so no worries about not using the specialty molds with the holes in the bottom for this one. Even cutting the recipe in half still made a pretty large amount, especially for just two of us.
For the chutney, Ina recommends the brand Cross and Blackwell Major Grey’s. I couldn’t find this particular brand so I used Kitchens of India’s Sweet Sliced Mango Chutney. I’m assuming this was close enough, but next time I might give it a whir in the food processor since the mango pieces were a bit big.
I was not disappointed, this was good. It was sort of spicy, a little peppery, kind of sweet, and smooth and chunky at the same time. If it wasn’t for all the cream cheese and heavy cream (and those little things called calories didn’t exist… Booooo!!!) I think I’d eat Coeur a la Creme every day, the savory for dinner and the sweet for dessert.
Thanks to Anne for another great choice. She always picks the best recipes when it’s her turn to choose.
Ina Garten’s Savory Coeur a la Creme
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Say Cheese
Ingredients
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle chutney (recommended: Cross and Blackwell Major Grey’s)
Crackers, for serving
Click here for directions!
Ina Garten’s Chinese Chicken Salad
The first April Barefoot Bloggers recipe was Chinese Chicken Salad chosen by McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen.
Chicken, red peppers, asparagus and scallions are paired with a dressing that has a nice Asian zing to it. Peanut buttery and gingery… it reminds me of the salad dressing my favorite Hibachi places use. I never thought I’d ever try or get even close to duplicating that kind of dressing at home.
The recipe is pretty easy, I threw it together in the same amount of time it took to cook a box of angel hair and jarred pasta sauce from start to finish. Although I did take a shortcut and use pre-cooked chicken breast strips to make it easier. I used crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. I read some comments from others that the salt could potentially be overwhelming so I just left it out.
I wasn’t sure I’d like this recipe going into it but I ended up being very pleased. I loved cooking with mostly fresh ingredients and making my own salad dressing. The salad had a ton of crunch and seemed to hold up well mixed together with the dressing which was light and had a great flavor. The apple cider vinegar gave it a fresh boost that I really liked.
I’d highly recommend this one. Thanks, McKenzie!
The Fabulous Ina Garten’s Chinese Chicken Salad
From the book Barefoot Contessa Parties!
TV Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Back to School
Ingredients
4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Click here for directions!
There’s lots of great things starting to happen with the Barefoot Bloggers group, especially this month. My schedule is getting a little hectic right now but I hope to participate as much as I can. Thanks so much to Tara and Rebecca for coming up with so many interesting ideas. The group just gets better and better!
Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
Ina, I think I love you.
Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts were the second March recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers and were chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry. Although these caught my eye before, I probably never would have got around to making them. And that would have been terrible because right now, these tarts are one of my favorite things. The boyfriend also gave his approval.
I’ve never really thought I cared for goat cheese but I’m really coming around to it now. It’s a main ingredient in both these tarts and another Ina recipe I absolutely love, Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches, which you must try if you haven’t yet!!
What I did: I went a little smaller with my circle cuts, using a 4 inch springform pan as my cutter for the puff pastry. I think next time I would just make squares so I wouldn’t have any waste. I couldn’t bring myself to throw away perfectly good puff pastry so I put my scraps together and made a few extra ugly shaped ones that tasted just as good as the prettier ones. I baked the smaller sized tarts for about 17-18 minutes instead of 20-25.
What I thought: Really, really wonderful. I would make these again without a doubt. My only tiny little complaint seems to be related to puff pastry which I don’t think I love by itself. I remember I complained about it previously on Ina’s Easy Cheese Danishes as well. If something is covering the puff pastry, I’m happy. But naked puff pastry… not so much. I don’t seem to care for the flakiness or the taste. So that being said, I took all of the leftover ingredients and turned this recipe into a sandwich using sourdough bread to model after that Roasted Pepper Sandwich I mentioned earlier. Yum!!!!
Ina Garten’s Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Say Cheese
Ingredients
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Good olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)
1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves
Chicken Piccata
We’ve done a total overhaul of our eating habits over the last month, something that desperately needed to be done. We were spending an obscene amount of money between the two of us on Starbucks (every day… eeek!), lunches and dinners out constantly. The plan was to find the store that consistently has the best sales week to week, which turned out to be the oldest store in our town that always has an empty parking lot while shoppers buzz in and out of a new fancy mega-store right across the street. We watch the circulars and plan our meals around what’s on sale and walk through the aisles in peace with no one getting in our way. We don’t even have to wait in line when we’re ready to pay. Things are on a system now and under control AND extra money is padding our accounts…sweet!
Due to this change though, I was a bad Barefoot Blogger last month. I missed both recipes, something I’ve never done. My apologies to Tara and both Rebecca and BMK who picked great recipes that I just couldn’t get completed.
I’m back this month though and ready to go.
Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings has selected Chicken Piccata for the first March recipe. We’ve made this dish at my house before and it went over well, so I was happy to make it again.
This is a quick and easy dinner that’s delicious. Boneless chicken breasts are pounded thin and dredged through a flour mixture, an egg mixture and finally seasoned bread crumbs. The chicken is browned in olive oil on the stovetop and then baked in the oven for a few minutes. Everything is covered with a lemon, wine and butter sauce and then topped with fresh parsley and lemon slices. Sounds good, huh? It is.
This would be the perfect dinner to whip up at a moments notice or after a long day at work. It really takes no time at all and there aren’t a lot of ingredients or steps to stress over. The lemon flavor is pretty strong in this recipe, which I love, but just be aware.
Thanks to Lindsey for a wonderful choice.
Ina Garten’s Chicken Piccata
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: It’s Friday Night Again
Ingredients
2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving
Click here for directions!
And since it’s been lemon my last couple of posts I thought it was the perfect time to give a big Thank You to Michelle of Big Black Dog who gave me this Lemonade Award on one of her recent posts (Chocolate Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Bubble Frosting… mmmm).
Thanks Michelle, it really made my day when you let me know.
Easy Sticky Buns
These Easy Sticky Buns from Ina Garten are pretty good. A lot of recipes for things like this (see others I’ve made) are time consuming because they involve yeast for the dough. Not this one. It utilizes puff pastry which saves a huge step, so all in all, it barely takes any time to put everything together. You could even make them the night before, and just take them out of the fridge the next morning once the oven is pre-heated.
The components consist of a butter and sugar mixture that it topped with pecans in the bottom of a muffin tin. The puff pastry is thawed and then rolled up with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins inside. After the roll is cut, you place each individual piece inside the muffin tin and bake. Once out of the oven, you flip the pan over and you have Pecan Sticky Buns for breakfast.
Sounds easy, right? Of course, there is one little downfall… the puff pastry gets pretty hard in places. Maybe baking them a few minutes less might help, but it’s really kind of in a Pecan Rolls nature to become a rock soon after baking. I would say make only as many of these as you need at one time, although they do reheat ok.
Also, make sure you follow the step about placing the pan on a baking sheet with parchment paper underneath. (You’re going to need the parchment when you invert the rolls anyway, although I got around this by just spooning the pecan mixture over the tops of each one after flipping them over.) Normally I just say “yeah, yeah, whatever” to this type of parchment placing step in a recipe with no ramifications, but it backfired on me this time. The butter mixture overflowed… a lot. All over the bottom of my oven. It was pretty obvious to me that I ignore steps like this so much because until someone pointed out my mistake on one of the Musings posts, I didn’t even know it was written in the recipe! Note to self: need to pay more attention and actually read things.
Overall, though… delicious and super easy. Thanks to Melissa of Made by Melissa who chose Ina’s Easy Sticky Buns for the second January recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers.
Ina Garten’s Easy Sticky Buns
From: Back to Basics
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (please do not ignore this step like I did – the butter mixture overflowed onto the bottom of my oven).
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.
Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.
Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.
Barefoot Bloggers: MY TURN To Burn (Hopefully Not) Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
A few years ago I was obsessed with Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill. I always wanted to go there after work for happy hour so I could feed my addiction. I’d enlist my friend Carey to go with me and i’d usually get there before him so i’d sit at the bar, have a drink, chat with the bartenders… and watch none other than the Barefoot Contessa on the TV. I always thought that was a funny choice to show at a bar, but of course the choice worked for me. One episode in particular caught my eye… the one that featured Banana Sour Cream Pancakes. I was interested because they looked really good and I have a weak spot for all breakfast foods, but I always had a fear of making pancakes at home. This fear was directly related to the fact that I somehow managed to burn every single batch I ever tried to make. Besides, it always seemed easier to just leave the whole thing up to the pros… you know, I.H.O.P. and Denny’s.
Anyway, the pancakes stayed in the back of my mind as something I would like to try one day anyway. Since it was my turn to choose the first 2009 recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers, I wanted to select a recipe that wasn’t going to be a lot of steps or take a lot of time since it was right after the holiday season. I also didn’t want it to cost a lot of money or spur a huge trip to the grocery store. I figured that these pancakes would be the perfect thing since most cooks and bakers would have nearly every ingredient on hand, minus one or two things at the most. Plus, we hadn’t really had a breakfast recipe (not counting two Bonus Challenges) since the very beginning of the group.
The process: One thing that surprised me was how thick the batter was. It was so thick that I thought I did something wrong. Never fear, that was how it was supposed to be. It made ladling them out and shaping them a little tricky since the batter doesn’t spread easily. I confessed my pancake burning fears to my boyfriend and of course he got to witness them in action as the first try went down in flames. He showed me his trick: Instead of cooking one side for 2 or 3 minutes until the bubbles rise to the top, constantly flip them. 30 seconds… flip. 30 seconds… flip. For me, I found that was the way to go and it made things a lot less stressful. After that first scorch, there was not another burnt pancake to throw in the trash.
My Thoughts: The taste of these were really good. They were really thick pancakes with bananas baked in and spooned over the top as an added bonus. Sadly, I couldn’t really identify the sour cream or lemon that much but I won’t doubt it contributed to the overall awesomeness.
I used good old Mrs. Butterworth’s instead of pure maple syrup due to the difference in costs.
I used three “kid” or “juniors” bananas instead of regular size so I could get this cool Donald Duck sticker.
I’m glad I got the chance to finally make these Banana Sour Cream Pancakes, they were a huge success at my house and I will make them again for sure. I’m also glad I got to make them with the Barefoot Bloggers and hope all of you who tried them were pleased. Many thanks to Tara for hosting such a wonderful group for the last seven months. I look forward to seeing what this new year brings for the Barefoot Bloggers and all the good stuff of Ina’s we’ll be making!
Next time on the Barefoot Bloggers, it’s another breakfast recipe – Melissa from Made by Melissa chose Easy Sticky Buns.
Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
Cookbook: 2003′s Barefoot Contessa Family Style
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Back to School
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
Pure maple syrup
Directions
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.
Pappa Al Pomodoro
Pappa al Pomodoro is a Tuscan bread and tomato soup. I’ve been eyeing this recipe up ever since I got Ina Garten’s new book Back to Basics. I love tomatoes, I could eat them everyday and I pretty much do. And I love bread. That was almost a guarantee that I would love Pappa al Pomodoro.
The ingredient list for this soup is pretty minimal. It calls for fennel which I’ve never actually used fresh before. It smells just like licorice. The prep work isn’t too bad. It’s a lot of chopping and cubing, but there’s plenty of stages where things cook at different times so you have lots of time to get it all done as you’re going through. This may be one of the first times I’ve been in the kitchen cooking completely relaxed and in control, usually I’m a disorganized mess. I’m just not as comfortable with cooking as I am with baking… yet.
I did change a few things. I couldn’t bring myself to use so much olive oil so I cut both quantities in half. I’m really sensitive to salt so I cut that in half as well. I had to use bacon since my local grocery store didn’t carry pancetta. I ran out of basil leaves while making the garnish so dried basil went into the actual soup. (Tip: If you’re using dried basil instead of fresh… 1 cup fresh would equal maybe 1/4 to 1/3 dried according to the other cooks on the ‘net).
This was very good. After some whisking, the bread dissolved and you get a thick, rich tomato soup. The garnish served as a nice texture difference as well as giving an additional flavor from the bacon (in my case). Some reviews I read said this version was bland which kind of threw me for a loop. I definitely didn’t think it was bland, but everyone’s tastes are different I guess.
Thanks go out to Natalie of Burned Bits for choosing this soup for the second December Barefoot Bloggers selection. Make sure you stop by Natalie’s blog to see what she thought of her choice.
Ina Garten’s Pappa Al Pomidoro
Cookbook: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Bread Winner
Ingredients
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
For the topping:
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper
Click Here For Directions
Coq au vin
According to Wikipedia: Coq au vin, a classic French stew, translates to “rooster in wine”.
This dish presented many new firsts for me. I had heard of it (sounded pretty fancy for my cooking skill), but never tasted it. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a French dinner dish before. I know I’ve never cooked with such a large amount of wine! And I had never cut a whole chicken into pieces (It wasn’t easy for me, I felt absolutely terrible about it. I really renewed my appreciation for Perdue Short Cuts chicken today). I’d say this was a definite learning experience.
I saw a post over at Workout then Cook! about adapting this recipe for the crockpot. This was a perfect alternative for me as I realized I didn’t actually have the Dutch Oven that is needed. I put everything in the crockpot at one time (except the wine) and cooked on low for about 6 hours. I then added the wine and finished up on the stove for a little less than an hour. Side note: I’m kind of coming in late to this blog but I just recently found A Year of Crockpotting. The author’s 2008 New Year’s resolution was to cook a new recipe everyday in her crockpot and then blog about it. She’s kept up with it all year and has done pretty much anything you can think of (and stuff you’d never think would work). Wonder if she’ll continue through 2009??
Anyway, Coq au vin is not the most photogenic dish out there, but we liked the taste. I liked it more than my boyfriend, he had some issues with what he thought was a strong red wine flavor. I’m not much for red wine, but the taste didn’t bother me. The chicken fell right off the bone and actually got a little stringy when I stirred. This is one of the things Ina mentions in her new book Back to Basics that is avoided when using her reworked cooking method using the Dutch Oven. I guess I have to also put a Dutch Oven on my Christmas list… my list is getting LONG!
Ina Garten’s version of Coq au vin was selected by Bethany of this little piggy went to market for the December 11th recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers group. The recipe can be found here on the Foodnetwork site. Next up for the BB’s is Pappa al Pomodoro, an Italian tomato/bread soup. I’ve had my eye on it since I got Back to Basics.
