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| Not the prettiest dish, but OH so good! |
I made Coq Au Vin for dinner tomorrow night. Yes, I made it the night before because just
like another classic, Beef Borguignon, it’s a meal that tastes so much better
the second day.
A few years ago, when Steve gave me Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, it was specifically to
make Beef Bourguignon. Truth be told, Coq
au vin, has moved to the position of dead heat for first place in my mind. I’ve no doubt it’s due to the mirrored
process of flavor layering involved in each dish.
Both meals take between 9 and 11 steps to develop. Both begin with bacon lardons to
prepare the pot and browning oil for the beef or poultry. (Let’s be honest here – what’s NOT better
with a bacon enhancement)? Then it’s
brown the star ingredient, add the liquor and broth (yes, in that order – broth
is definitely second fiddle to the wine and cognac), prepare the mushrooms and
onions separately to develop their full flavor, reduce the cooking liquid to
pure flavor gold and then introduce all the separate entities to each other
before serving and finish off with a sprig of parsley (yes- its own step in each recipe)!
As I took the final taste test this evening before allowing
it to cool, the only word to describe the sauce that cradles all this goodness
is simply “velvet”. It flows over the
tongue, awakening the nose and palate, demanding its moment of savory
appreciation.
The meal, as a whole and given the advantage of blending
overnight, produces a flavor nirvana like no other.
Absolutely, it takes a good deal of time and
preparation. But it’s recipes like this
that fulfill a desire in me to create, equal to my desire to write. I don’t follow the recipe exactly. I incorporate a slight change here or there,
based on my desire at the moment and the materials I have on hand. But the fundamental core remains
constant. Writing, like cooking, demands
layers that build. Parts that stand on
their own yet are better when brought together as a whole.
What I strive for, as an artist, is to walk among the greats
for a short period of time with something I’ve created. Whether it’s Julia Child
or Joyce
Carol Oates I’m emulating, I attempt, for a moment, to share my offering of
creativity.
It’s just Steven and I at home now to share the Coq Au
Vin. Some might say it’s too much work
for just two people. I don’t see it that way. Preparing a meal or writing a piece fulfills
a need in me. And part of that need is
to share. It doesn’t matter whether it’s
one person or a hundred. What is
paramount is that whether it’s someone appreciating a meal or a reader taking a
moment to read what I’ve written, that the experience to be worth their
time. I want them to enjoy not only the
immediate moment, but to know their worth in the time it took for me to create
that moment for them. If it provides
enjoyment, if it feeds their body or soul; if it feels like velvet…well then,
I’ve succeeded. 
