Julia, you are one complicated lady

This past Christmas, I got on the Julia Child bandwagon, enthralled by the movie Julie and Julia (more for Meryl Streep's portrayal of Child than anything else), and put Mastering the Art of French Cooking on my wish list.

Well, my mom came through and I found myself poring over not just volume 1, but volume 2 as well.

And although I love the books, and I say this with the greatest affection for Child, some of the recipes are more complicated than they need to be. There, I said it. Challenge me if you must, but it is the reality by my standards, and that is saying a lot from someone who is taking chef training as a hobby.

I don't doubt that much of what is in the books is directly taught at the Cordon Bleu. The problem being that some of it is clearly restaurant cooking.

Case in point: Coq au Vin.

A great braising dish, this one becomes unnecessarily complex with seperate recipes for the brown-braised onions (to be added at the end) and the sauteed mushrooms, also to be added as a garnish. I puzzled over this, and can only come up with this explanation: in a large production kitchen, you would make these onions or mushrooms in large batches because they would be used for several dishes. At home, it just doesn't make sense.

Now, the chef in me says: "Wait! How will the chicken get the flavours of the onion, if they're not cooked in the dish?" The practical side of me says: "And that's yet another pot to wash!"

So I tinkered with the recipe and referenced the Larousse Gastronomique (one of the previous year's Christmas gifts), and found that a delicious result could be achieved in one dish and dare I say it, maybe even a little bit healthier! Note: I did not say this is "healthy". It still contains bacon and enough fat off the chicken.

Just to make sure I didn't deviate too far, I even did the flambe. (Be sure to stand back, as you'll be surprised by how high the flames will rise). The result was a rich sauce, tasty mushrooms and onions to boot and a perfectly braised chicken thigh. I also used only thighs, which not only makes this an economical option, but the dark meat works best with the slow braising. I like this recipe because it breaks all the rules-- using red wine with poultry and beef broth instead of chicken. Of course if you were so inclined you could make your own dark chicken broth by browning the bones first, but that's another time-consuming endeavour.

Coq au Vin (à la méthode Vixen)

3 to 4 oz of bacon

2 onions, sliced

1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered

2 lbs of chicken thighs, skin on bone-in.

2 tbsp cognac

1/2 can of tomato paste

3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of thyme

1 cup red wine

2 cups of beef broth

Cut the bacon into strips widthwise and saute until brown in a dutch oven. Remove from pan. In the bacon drippings, brown the chicken with the skin on. After all sides are brown, remove and let sit.

Add in the onions and brown, slowly over low heat. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, adding a little butter to prevent sticking. Stir in tomato paste and minced garlic. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes before proceeding.

With a heavy lid in hand, pour in the cognac, stand back, and ignite. Snuff out the flames by placing the lid over the pot and letting them die out. Scrape the bottom of the pot, pour in the wine, and simmer to reduce by half.

Coq Au VinAdd the broth, bay leaf and thyme. Remove the skin from the chicken and add thighs (without the skin) to the pot.

With a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the pot, place in oven at 350F for an hour. Baste chicken every 15 minutes to keep moist. Remove from oven, and if sauce needs thickening, take chicken out of pot and reduce. Replace chicken and serve.

Serve with roasted new potatoes and green beans.

New Year, new life, new food

Well, dear readers,

Have you noticed my absence in in recent months. I know I haven't been wowing you with great recipes or photos worthy of a little salivation over the keyboard. And for that I apologize.

However, you should know that there is good reason for my absence. I am pregnant. And those first few months of morning sickness really took a toll on what was produced in the kitchen. In fact, in kinda screeched to a grinding halt as I opted for frozen lasagnas and yogurt-fruit smoothies. The thought of raw chicken made me want to gag, and to be honest, I wasn't even too keen on the idea of eating it, even when someone else cooked it (sorry Hubby!)

Luckily now I'm past my first trimester, and my appetite is back. So I promise I'll be a little more diligent.

On that note, I'd like to introduce you to a new cookbook that embraces one of my promises to myself this year, to eat locally, and ethically where possible.

A Year in Lucy's Kitchenby Lucy Waverman gives excellent suggestions for meals every month of our Canadian year. While it's true that we may have to rely on canned goods in the winter, Waverman makes the most of them, noting that they can be substituted with fresh ingredients when in season, like in the following recipe.

The book is beautifully illustrated, but it's not food porn. Don't expect a glossy photo with every dish. Each month also takes into a account seasonal holidays, and incorporates recipes that could be used every day, or for these special occasions. Most importantly though, the recipes are simple. They are easy to execute and make cooking easy.

Waverman hits a homerun with this one.

In the following recipe, I would suggest one small tweak when using canned tomatoes. Drain them, or the wine in the recipe won't have enough time to evaporate by the time the fish is cooked. I loved how fast and simple this dish was. I did about 15 minutes of prep work and it was in the oven.

Halibut with Spiced Moroccan Saucecopyright Random House

By Lucy Waverman

SERVES 4

The combination of spices and colours makes this a real taste treat and feast for the eyes. I make it with fresh tomatoes in summer and good-quality canned tomatoes in other seasons.

1⁄4 cup chopped fresh coriander

1⁄4 cup chopped parsley

2 tsp chopped garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

Pinch cayenne

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1⁄4 cup lemon juice

1⁄2 cup white wine

2⁄3 cup chopped fresh or canned tomatoes

4 halibut fillets (about 6 oz/175 g each)

1⁄2 cup cracked green olives

PREHEAT oven to 425°F.

CHOP coriander, parsley and garlic in a food processor. Add oil, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper and puree. Add lemon juice and combine. Reserve 2 tbsp spice mixture.

COMBINE wine, tomatoes and remaining spice mixture in a baking dish. Place halibut in baking dish in a single layer, skin-side down. Spread reserved spice mixture over fish.

BAKE for 15 minutes. Add olives and continue to bake for 5 minutes, or until white juices appear on fish. Serve fish with sauce.

Excerpted from A Year in Lucy's KitchenCopyright © 2009 by Lucy Waverman. Photography by Rob Fiocca. Excerpted by permission of Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.

And in case you were wondering, this is how mine turned out, served over a bed of multicoloured rice.