Paris: Channeling Julia Child

A lazy rainy Sunday in Paris seemed the prefect time to attempt some French cooking a la Julia Child. I had downloaded her recipe for Coq au Vin a couple of days before, and we had gone grocery shopping to get all the ingredients on Saturday. The only scary part: one of the steps is to flambe the chicken in cognac. I made sure there were no smoke detectors in the kitchen, and then I started.

Preparing the lardons--small rectangles of lean bacon that are the first step to a tasty Coq au Vin.

The moment of truth! The cognac goes into the pan.

Strike a match!

And, voila! Flambe chicken! Best part--no fire alarms! The rest of the steps are a cakewalk.

C'est fini! The kitchen is spattered with grease and powdered with flour. The chef is spattered with food stains, and his hair is on end. The presentation is less than elegant. But the taste? C'est magnifique!