When the new issue of Gourmet arrived this last week I spied a recipe for a quick Coq Au Vin made with Riesling. Recipe here. It reminded me of being 14 years old and making dinner out of the Larousse Gastronomique (the French illustrated encyclopedia of cooking complete with illustrations of technique and recipes.)
I was a latchkey kid most of my childhood life and learned to help with dinners since whichever parent I was living with at the time worked outside of the home. I guess I was born a foodie before there was even such a word because I would spend hours on end going through my mom’s cookbooks and clipping recipes that appealed to me from magazines. My mom had a 1961 edition of the Larousse and I eagerly went through each page learning as much as I could about classic French cuisine. I taught myself to make passable croissants and casseroles from these pages. I didn’t have good equipment but as a teenager I had the ignorant confidence that allowed me to go ahead and try new recipes without worrying about those things.
When I came across the recipe for Coq Au Vin in the Larousse it sounded good to me- by then I had been sautéing mushrooms and onions in white wine regularly and IÂ liked the flavor and aroma of that combination. Also, since I was a teenager I obviously couldn’t go out and buy a bottle of red wine to make Coq Au Vin in the traditional style, so I used what I had on hand -a bottle of Riesling from the fridge in my first attempt at the dish. I walked to the store and bought some chicken and proceeded. I browned the chicken and then added mushrooms and onions and some potatoes and carrots and as I recall some Dijon mustard and then covered the whole thing in wine. What a lovely smell- I can still recall it. It became a dish I cooked often.
I moved away from home at 18 and learned to cook from other books but the Larousse was my first serious romance with a cookbook. I don’t know why I never bought my own copy in all those years- it just never occurred to me I guess. This last year Rick bought me a copy of that same 1961edition for my very own and you know -it felt as though I had come home.
So last night I revisited my youth and made a lovely Coq Au Vin with Piesporter- my sweeties homemade Piesporter as a substitute for Riesling -because that’s what I had on hand. It was excellent. I also added a bit of asparagus since I had that too. It was a lovely dish. Try it if you get the chance.
xoxo
Cog au Vin is one of those tried and true recipes. You make it sound so delicious. Thank goodness I was able to stay at home for most of daughters young life…it makes me very sad to hear your story and how it affected you. It has made you into the resourceful woman you are today though through these life experiences 😀
I was the same type of cjhld. I remember you once commented on that on my blog. I long for a copy of the Larousse Gastronomique. One Day. A Coq au Vin made with Reisling sounds excellent.
I love coq au vin! Did you use a rooster? 😉
Like you I have wonderful memories hearing Coque au Vin…my first real date and dinner at my place with my future husband, and completely the other side of the spectrum a heated debate with a co-worker over coq au vin which in her opinion was originally made with white wine…. Lovely write-up!
(oh and i like the ladybirds!)