And it's a tie!

So I went head to head with French Cooking this weekend and we both came out winners (or losers, but I prefer to focus on the positive!).

Scene 1: Saturday 10AM. DH wished for an omlette for breakfast.

One of his favorite things from our trips to Sandals in St. Lucia and Jamaica was the open grill at breakfast where he could get an omlette. In the interest of full disclosure, omlettes have alway seemed a little suspicious to me, so I've only had one or two. Ever. And never. Never made one.

But this morning I've got a full dozen eggs, I've got the Joy of Cooking, and dammit if DH wants an omlette, he's going to get an omlette.

So I compulsively followed the directions for a French Omlette: 1 T of butter in an appropriately sized pan (thanking the great spaghetti monster that the middle sized of my cast iron skillets was the right size, because every other pot in the kitchen was dirty.) pour in two eggs carefully stirred, swoosh around, stir carefully, etc. It folds over easily, and I even manage to get it on the plate in a very good semblance of the "classic omlette". I proudly bring it over to DH for his meal, and he takes one bite and almost gags. Too much butter, and maybe some undercooked egg! (He must be the only person on the earth who doesn't like butter!)

Second attempt was worse than the first. So, final result:
French Cooking - 1, Mrs. Higrens - 0

Scene 2: Sunday Late-Morning through Dinner. Recipe for Coq Au Vin in Cooking Light.

I have to admit, I've been intrigued with the idea of Coq Au Vin for a while now. When the recipe showed up in a recent Cooking Light I decided to give it a try.

It certainly seemed simple enough (even less complicated than an omlette!). I made it a little tougher by deciding to cut up a whole chicken I had in the freezer (thawed first!) instead of buying parts expressly for the dish. Again, out came out the Joy of Cooking, this time the next-to-most recent edition (the most recent edition didn't have directions on how to cut up a chicken into parts). And yes, I have 2 editions of Joy of Cooking. There are some significant differences.

So that done, I put together the marinade. I used a bottle of 1995 Burlwood Cab. Sauv. which had been collecting dust in the wine rack on our counter (I know, not the best location with the light and heat...but it's where we have room). According to DH, who drinks reds and has a better appreciation for subtleties than I, it was on the verge of vinegar but not just there. Chopped the onion and carrots, and added the spices. Poured over the chicken in a large bowl and put in the fridge to marinate away.

4 1/2 hours later: Time to chop the bacon (I cheated here too and used some I had cooked a while back.) and the prunes (one of those components DH doesn't know about, because knowing would disgust him) before browning the chicken parts in a little butter (mmm, butter) in lieu of bacon fat, and sautee-ing the onions and carrots to softness before pouring in the marinade, bacon and prunes, and returning the chicken to the pot. The pot came to a simmer and I walked away for a few more hours.

3 hours later: It's finally done. And tastes very good! I served it with egg noodles and sugar snap peas (it would have been green beans with almonds, but we were out). The only thing I would do differently is skin the chicken parts. Apparently the recipe called for it, but I missed it.
(for full disclosure, I made pot roast on Saturday, in my crock-pot, and those left-overs would have been the fall back dinner if the coq au vin had gone poorly)

Final Result:
French Cooking - 0, Mrs. Higrens - 1

So, for the weekend, a tie:
French Cooking - 1, Mrs. Higrens - 1

So, has any one got suggestions for better omlette's? Because, me and French Cooking, we're not done yet!