coq au vin

Feeling extravagant this evening, I decided to start preparations for a dinner of coq au vin. I wondered to myself if it was a bit too early. It's not really Fall yet. But Tadzio is back in school, the weather is cool, and at least one of my co-workers has the swine flu. Fall is here, ce n'est pas? It's time for me to drag my boots and coat out of the closet. Time for me to convince Przemek to read Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain with me, one or two chapters per week. Przemek has been reading this book for twenty years, but has never finished it.

Coq au vin is a dish that amuses me to no end. It's simple and delicious, and I get to empty a whole bottle of red wine into our dutch oven. I like to prepare it with game hens. The sweet man in the deli section searched high and low for hens, but only located a goose. It is too early. It's not really Autumn. I do have a recipe for braised goose with white wine and coffee, but I'm saving it for later this year.

Anyway, this evening I was in search of much smaller fowl. Finally, sweetly, the man in the deli section found some frozen hens in the freezer and I was on my way.

Image via wet behind the ears