Coq au Vin

From Andie Evans

24 to 30 pearl onions
4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 (5 to 7-pound) stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
6 ounces salt pork, slab bacon, or lardon, cubed
8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 (750-ml) bottles red wine, preferably pinot noir
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 medium carrots, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock or broth

Directions
Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. Remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. You should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. Set aside.

Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large (1 or 2-gallon) sealable plastic bag along with the flour. Shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.

Add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. Cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken into a 7 to 8-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.

Add the mushrooms to the same 12-inch saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the Dutch oven along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add all of the remaining wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.

Once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. Strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3. Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.

Cook’s Note: If the sauce is not thick enough at the end of reducing, you may add a mixture of equal parts butter and flour kneaded together. Start with 1 tablespoon of each. Whisk this into the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes and repeat, if necessary.

Chicken Pomodoro

From Andie Evans
Makes 2 servings
Time: 30 minutes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded into cutlets
salt and black pepper
AP flour
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. vodka
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. chopped fresh tomato
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/3 c. sliced scallions

Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Heat vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.

Saute cutlets on both sides. Transfer cutlets to a platter; pour off fat from the pan.

Deglaze pan with vodka (off the heat or it might catch fire); return to heat and cook until nearly evaporated.

Add broth and lemon juice. Return cutlets to pan and cook on each side for 1 minute. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate.

Stir tomato and cream into sauce. Heat through; pour over cutlets.

Garnish with scallions. Serve with rice or anything else that will soak up sauce.

Wine-Braised Chuck Roast with Onions

From Shirley Evans
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Total Cook Time: 4 3/4 hours

4 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. onions (4 to 6 medium), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 c. dry white wine
1 c. water

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pat beef dry and rub all over with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof 5-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown beef on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Transfer beef to a plate.

Add onions to pot and saute over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary and remaining salt and pepper and cook, stirring. 2 minutes. Add wine and water and bring to a boil. Return beef to pot, then cover tightly and bruise in oven, turning once after 1 hour, until beef is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total.

Let beef stand, uncovered, in onion sauce about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and transfer beef to a cutting board. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season with salt and pepper and return beef to sauce. Reheat, covered, 20 minutes.

Serve over noodles.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

From Andie Evans

Makes 4 servings

Kosher salt

12 oz. whole-wheat penne

1 28-oz. can whole plum tomatoes

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 c. vodka

2/3 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Handful of fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1/2 c. cooking water, then drain the pasta. Empty the tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hands.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the vodka, tomatoes and salt to taste. Return the skillet to medium heat and simmer, stirring often, until the alcohol cooks off, about 7 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and basil.

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, adding some of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Season with salt. Serve topped with more parmesan and basil.

Electric Lemonade (Blue Drink)

From Karl Schrader

Use Caution - Adults Only!

I'll try to avoid the quantity issues and just use generic quantities. This is an excellent drink in large quantities, but can be mixed individually.

1 part Bacardi Rum
1 part Bacardi Razz (Raspberry Flavored Rum)
1/3 part Blue Curacao
1/3 part Malibu Rum
1/2 part Lemon Juice
4 part Lemonade
2 part Lemon/Lime Soda (7 up, Sprite, Sierra Mist, etc...)
Lots of ice

For reference, the first time this was made, we made this using Liters as a means of measuring. I have made this using much smaller values as well.