This is obviously a riff on the classic Coq au Vin, though I’ve taken some pretty serious liberties with the original. Julia Child’s precisely-described version is more a point of departure than one of comparison.
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<br />Earthy. Wintry. Quiet. Those are the elements I most wanted to invoke for my Chrismas Eve dinner as snow was gently falling. I seriously increased the quantity and types of mushrooms and onions. As for seasonings, I kept them simple: some bay leaves, peppercorns and juniper berries tied up with a bow (it’s Christmas after all) in a piece of cheesecloth. In place of chicken stock, I made a deeply flavorful mushroom stock.
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<br />My beer tastes range far and wide. I love a good IPA, and Stout is always nice in winter, but I wanted the beer taste to play well with the other flavors, not overtake them, so I used one of my favorites, Stella Artois, with homage to the dish’s French roots. As for the cognac called for in the original, I wanted something a little less fancy, so I went with a 3-year-old Rubí, a rustic French brandy with a bit of a bite to it that is reasonably priced and perfect for cooking.
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<br />And even though I had the better part of a day to let the various steps perfume the entire house, I wasn’t in a mood to wash several pans, so everything ultimately went into one. Yes, I used frozen pearl onions; it was Christmas Eve day, and there was a fire that needed sitting in front of and a book that needed reading.
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