Learn how to make traditional Coq Au Vin (chicken in red wine) with this delicious French recipe. It’s surprisingly easy to make, and slow-simmered in the most heavenly, rich, and flavorful red wine sauce.
I feel like I’m having my own little “Julie and Julia” moment with today’s post. ♥
Well, I mean, I didn’t bone a duck…or cook a live lobster…or make Boeuf Bourginon (although that’s next on my list to master). But I did finally learn how to make traditional Coq Au Vin. And guys, I don’t know why I’ve been so intimidated by classic French cooking for so many years. It was totally easy! And totally delicious. And, it was totally inspired by the one and only…
…Julia Child.
Oui. I’m afraid I have to admit that, up until this summer, I was totally “that millennial” who missed the boat with Julia Child. I’m just young enough that I had never really grown up with her shows, I’d never really read her cookbooks, and I mayyyyy have had images of Meryl Streep (or Dan Aykroyd) come to mind anytime I heard her name. But I knew that she was a cooking legend, and I knew that she loved living in France. So this past summer, I decided to tuck her memoir into my suitcase on my own trip to France. (And then may have made Barclay watch “Julie and Julia” with me on my iPad on the plane ride over, you know, just to get in the spirit.) And then he will be the first to tell you that once I started the book, I absolutely could not put it down.
You guys, how did I never know that Julia was so freaking cool?!?
And brilliant? And hilarious? And brave? And adventurous? And progressive? And such a kindred spirit with a love for getting to know new people, and new cultures, and new ideas, and new places, and — of course — new foods?! Not to mention, someone who openly shared with others about how much she adored her sweet husband, and worked diligently with him over the years to care for their relationship? And more than anything, someone who truly seemed to just live life to the absolute fullest, exploring and learning and celebrating just about everywhere she went?
Oh my goodness, I was completely captivated and inspired by her. And reading all about her adventures in France while Barclay and I were having our own adventures in France couldn’t have been more perfect. And of course, reading page after page of her mouth-watering adventures in French cooking made me all the more excited to try so many of her favorite French dishes for myself. And one night at dinner on our Viking River Cruise, I finally got an authentic taste of one of Julia’s favorite dishes that I had always wanted to try:
Coq Au Vin.
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