Anna signed up to make Coq au vin (pronounced coke-o-van), a traditional French dish of braised chicken in a red wine sauce. The preparation of coq au vin is very similar to that of beef bourguignon, which Kirby showed us how to make back in February. You can find the link by clicking here.
Kirby found a recipe for Parisian potatoes (pommes parisienne) to bring to the party. These potatoes are different from the many varieties of which we've become accustomed (baked, mashed, french fried, scalloped, potato salad, etc. ...do i sound like Bubba on Forrest Gump?). These potatoes are in little balls, thanks to the use of a melon baller.
I opted for chocolate mousse for dessert and used the mousse portion of Anna's Six Layer Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake. Click the link to see the recipe. I kid you not it took me less than five minutes to whip up this rich dessert. I did it the night before, so all I had to do the day of the party was serve it up in cute martini glasses and top with some whipped cream I had left over!
Ok...so this was an overview of our planned meal. Now I'll let the others give their recipes and explain what happens when the power goes out a couple hours before the party and doesn't come back on until 3 minutes before our guests arrive. The meal was great...but maybe not very French. Let's call it dinner with a hint of French cooking :)
--Andie
Anna's Coq Au Vin:
I was so pumped about this dish. I had all my ingredients prepped and the chicken had been marinating in red wine over-night. We had a classic Southern summer rain storm come through about lunch time. I returned home to no power. No prob! Alabama Power says power should be restored by 3:30, which is perfect since my dish has to cook for 2 hours. While waiting on the power to return, I prepped all my ingredients and re-read the recipe so I would be able to rock and roll at 3:30. Well, 3:30 came and went. I was in a slight panic by 5:00 when there was still nothing. I considered just calling off the whole sha-bang when I stopped to think that we could make this work. All me needed was a grill and some aluminum foil. The hubs fired up the grill for us. We packaged up all the veggied into foil packets and cooked them along side the chicken. Although, this is not our traditional coq au vin, it's the best we could do. The meal turned out fabulous, although not French. But, if we were in France and the power went out this is what we would do, so I guess you could call it a French BBQ'ed Coq Au Vin!
Click here to see the full Coq Au Vin recipe.
Kirby's Parisian Potatoes:
I was so excited to try this new process of making potatoes. It seemed so easy, and that was what I was most excited about. I knew it would be a recipe that I could re-create numerous times in my home when we aren't having a "French Dinner". You'll need a melon baller for this, and you use it to cut out the potato. Then, place in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for four minutes. Then, melt your butter and some oil (and salt and pepper) in a pan and toss to coat. Lastly, you place them in oven for about 25-30 minutes. And, Voila! They're ready! Sounds easy and yummy, right? I'll let you know how they turn out next time!
Click here to see the full Parisian Potatoes recipe.
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| Here's the final product!! |
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| This dessert was to-die for!! |
Considering our we were all having a panic attack about 5pm, everything pulled together nicely. We had a nice grilled meal with great company and even better sangria (thanks Lucy!!). Maybe next time we will actually be able to fulfill their request for dinner. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!
-Andie, Anna, & Kirby
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