Coq Au Vin

May 29: National Coq Au Vin Day

T’was a rude awakening whenever the cock crowed at the crack of dawn at Islander’s grandmothers’ homesteads. As a late riser, she would get so annoyed that her beauty sleep was interrupted and threatened to make a meal out of the early morning menace.  Although the rooster never ended up in Islander’s cauldron, she has cooked coq au vin in her crockpot.  For National Coq Au Vin Day, our blog recipe post features a slow cooker method for chicken braised in red wine.

Recipe

(Adapted from Slow-Cooker)

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon, cut in ½-inch pieces
• 2 pounds chicken, boneless and skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ½ cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups pearl onions, peeled
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1 cup button mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons of Herbs de Provence
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup of Burgundy/red wine

Directions

Dredge the chicken pieces in flour and set aside. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp then onto paper towels to drain.  In the same skillet, brown the chicken pieces in the hot bacon fat.  Transfer the chicken to a slow cooker. Pour a little olive oil to add to the bacon fat in the same skillet and add the garlic, onions, carrots and mushrooms.

Sauté the garlic, onions, carrots and mushrooms until brown.  Add the sprigs of thyme and Herbs de Provence and mix well.  Transfer all to the slow cooker on top of the chicken.  Sprinkle with the bacon pieces. Pour in the chicken broth and red wine.  Mix well.  Cook on high for four hours or on low for six hours. Gently stir the stew before serving. Garnish with sprigs of thyme and cooked bacon pieces.

Notes

• We bought the Herbes de Provence at Williams-Sonoma.  This traditional French dry herb mix is probably cheaper elsewhere. But the costly clay container was just too cute to pass up!

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

May 26: National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

This blog recipe post is an adaptation of the mini cherry cheesecakes that we featured on April 23 for National Cherry Cheesecake Day. In this version, instead of topping the mini cheesecakes with canned blueberry pie filling, the drained blueberries are sandwiched between layers of cheesecake batter. Fresh blueberries enhance the taste as well as the presentation of these mini blueberry cheesecakes. The double dose of canned and fresh blueberries is a “berry” good combination for National Blueberry Cheesecake Day.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese
• ¾ cup sugar (granulated white)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• box of vanilla wafers
• can of blueberry pie filling
• ½ cup of fresh blueberries

Directions

Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers and place one vanilla wafer in each cup.  Drain the can of blueberry pie filling in a colander, separating the berries from the thickened liquid; reserve the liquid. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Cover the vanilla wafers with a small amount of cheesecake batter.

Add a teaspoonful of drained blueberry pie filling on top of the first layer of cheesecake batter.  Cover the top of the pie filling with a second layer of cheesecake batter, being careful not to mix the colors, about 2/3 full. Tap the bottom of the muffin tin until the batter lies smoothly. Bake the mini cheesecakes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.

Remove the mini cheesecakes from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes in the muffin tins. Transfer the mini cheesecakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least one hour to set. Rinse and dry the fresh blueberries. Dip a blueberry in the reserved liquid drained from the canned pie filling and stick it the middle of the cheesecake well. Repeat with two more blueberries and arrange the decoration on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Yield: About 1 ½ dozen.

Yoda Soda

May 21: Movie release date of “The Empire Strikes Back“

Essence of Dagobah drink you should on this day, from the swamp planet of Jedi Master Yoda where exiled he was to teach young Luke Skywalker about the ways of The Force. Debuted Yoda has on May 21, 1980, in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the fifth episode in the “Star Wars” space saga. Become a popular puppet he has!  Celebrate Highlander and Islander do of the movie release date with a libation of lime recipe. The “carbonated freeze,” Yoda Soda, called it is. May the fizz be with you!

Recipe

(Adapted from Wikibooks)

Ingredients

• Lime sherbet
• Lemon-lime soda (7Up, Sprite, etc.)
• Lime wedges (optional)

Directions

For each serving, in a tall glass put two scoops of lime sherbet in the bottom. Pour one cup of lemon-lime soda to create the swamp-like fizz. Mix lightly to distribute the green color. Garnish with a wedge of lime. Serve immediately.

Notes

• The original recipe for Yoda Soda is from “Wookiee Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook” by Robin Davis.
• The final food photo shows an individual serving of Yoda Soda in a tall glass whereas the visual tutorial photos show the recipe divided into smaller cocktail glasses. Choose one or the other as “size matters not.”
• Thanks to Islander’s brother, Kahuna, who let us borrow his prized Yoda props for the photos.
• Translate English into Yodish by using “The Yoda-Speak Generator.” The website also observes May 21 as “Talk Like Yoda Day.”
• Listen to composer John Williams’ “Yoda’s Theme” movie music and Weird Al Yankovic’s “Yoda” song.
• Search our blog for other recipe posts related to “Star Wars.”