Coq au vin is made with an old rooster, the older the bird, the richer the sauce, that is, if it is allowed to marinate and cook for a long time.

According to America's Test Kitchen, Coq Au Vin is chicken with red wine, but the traditional French chicken--a 5-year-old rooster that's a tough old bird but turns fork tender with long cooking in wine.

(They did a much faster skillet version with the young birds usually found in the supermarkets today.)

Coq = old rooster, not a chicken. (The reason you cook it for so long is because you need time to tenderize a tough old bird.)

Given the unlikeliness of finding an old rooster at a modern American supermarket, I don't have a philosophical problem with a chicken version, but it won't really be coq au vin, just chicken cooked in a red wine sauce.

IOfoodN, I bought 2lbs of strawberries (for $4) at the grocery store Saturday. I made a batch of strawberry syrup with 1 lb, any ideas for the second pound?

I made a batch of strawberry syrup with 1 lb, any ideas for the second pound?

I also need a good strawberry recipe! (usually I just eat them cut up in cereal, in my hand, in yogurt, with whipped cream but I have too many now!) What is this strawberry syrup?

Though last year Amy did a quicker version using a chicken and they stomped her for it. Even she didn't do it in 45 minutes, though.

One of the TC contestants did a "version" of coq au vin with a chicken. She got dinged for it. They said "if she hadn't called it coq au vin, we would have liked it"

I turned my CSA strawberries from last week into these, and they were pretty darn awesome:

[link]

I also need a good strawberry recipe! (usually I just eat them cut up in cereal, in my hand, in yogurt, with whipped cream but I have too many now!)

What is this strawberry syrup?

My first attempt at doing something with strawberries besides the above. Actually it's part of a Bon Appétit strawberry milkshake recipe. In their recipe, you boil the strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1/3 cup corn syrup (I used 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup maple syrup) for 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice. Strain berries out. I'm keeping the berries to mix in with yogurt. The syrup will be used for both milkshakes and probably yogurt as well.

One of the TC contestants did a "version" of coq au vin with a chicken. She got dinged for it. They said "if she hadn't called it coq au vin, we would have liked it"

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of - for some reason I thought it was Amy who did that, but I think you're right and it was TC.

Oooh rhubarb!!!