A rainbow of peppers at the Place Monge market, Paris
Allow me to dispel some of the intimidation or complication of French cooking. Coq au Vin (pronounced coke-o-van) is nothing more than a fancy-shmancy way of saying Chicken Stew or Chicken in Wine. But would you pay $35 for an entrée of Chicken Stew? I think not, so Coq au Vin it is!
Many people claim Coq au Vin as their own, however, legend has it that Julius Caesar's cook created the first Coq au Vin recipe after the Gauls gave Caesar a tough old rooster when he conquered them...or perhaps that was the first recorded act in history of someone "giving someone the bird"?! But I digress... yes, back to the Coq au Vin...
Braising is the preferred cooking method for older, tougher cuts of meat as the long, slow heat and liquid tenderizes and flavors the meat and makes it edible. Always have a chewy crusty bread on hand to mop up the juice after! Burgundy red wine appears to be the wine of choice for this dish, after a quick scan through various recipes, but any hearty red will do.