If anyone wants to visit him and Jacquie, I suspect the
next year or so might be the time to do so.
OK, when do we leave?
How about about the same time of year. The
advantage of a bit later would be the possibility
of mushrooms. Did you notice that Lilli was
convinced to try mushrooms and didn't actually
hate them?
FWIW...the next time I'm going to go back to Icelandair vice Delta.
Has to do
with clearing customs in Iceland vs Paris, which is really painless. Which puts me into Paris at Terminal 1 where I pretty much just walk out the
door.
Instead of Terminal 2 where I have to clear customs with 87bazillion other people, last time it was over 2 hours. Delta also managed to dump 2
completely
full B777 planes into customs at MSP on the way back, not much fun.
I always had great ease with customs at CDG, because
the United flights would come in way early. But then
there was the time we did a rewind and ended coming
in around noon, where we were funneled in with a
whole lot of flights from places like Morocco and
Algeria, and every passport was examined closely,
except for the magic blue ones, which, even though a
lot of countries (read France) hate us, most of the
time gets preferential treatment. I was surprised to
note that that still obtains even in this State
Department hostile period.
Coq au Vin Blanc
servings: 4 to 6
categories: French, poultry, main
750 ml dry white wine
5 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus
2 Tb finely chopped parsley
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
6 oz thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
3 1/2 lb whole chicken legs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb small white button mushrooms
3/4 lb shallots, peeled and quartered
3 Tb unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb all-purpose flour
1/4 c dry sherry
1 3/4 c chicken broth
3/4 lb small baby carrots, peeled
1/2 lemon, juice of
Preheat an oven to 350F (180C).
In a large saucepan over high heat, boil the wine until
reduced by half, about 15 min.
Meanwhile, make a bouquet garni: Using a piece of
kitchen twine, tie together the parsley sprigs, thyme
sprigs and bay leaf. Set aside.
In a large ovenproof saute pan or Dutch oven over medium
heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until brown,
about 10 min. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to
drain. Discard all but 2 Tb of the fat from the pan.
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Set
the pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear
the chicken, turning once, until browned on both sides,
8 to 10 min per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Discard all but 2 Tb of the fat from the pan. Return
the pan to medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and cook,
stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 6 to 8
min. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, 2 min. Transfer
the mushrooms and shallots to a bowl and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter. When the
butter has melted, add the garlic and flour and cook 1 min.
Add the sherry and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up
any browned bits on the pan bottom. Whisk in the reduced
wine and the broth, increase the heat to medium-high and
bring to a simmer. Add the bacon, chicken, mushroom mixture,
carrots and bouquet garni. Cover, transfer to the oven and
braise until the chicken is tender, about 1 1/2 hr.
Transfer the chicken to a plate. Using a large spoon, skim
the fat from the surface of the liquid. Set the pan over
medium-high heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened,
12 to 15 min. Discard the bouquet garni. Add the lemon
juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return the
chicken to the pan. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve
immediately.
Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen
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