Dinner & Glee

Every week, we gather with friends to watch Glee, taking turns to host. Lately, we've added dinner to the mix. My friends have made some delicious meals, including Mongolian beef and Vodka sauce pasta. Delish! They've also made separate vegetarian versions for me and our other vegetarian friend. Not to too many people would do that. What great friends! I really wanted to treat them with a fabulous meal for all their work to accommodate us. Lately, I've also been trying to incorporate a little meat in my diet.  It hasn't been easy to break the total vegetarian habit, but at my sister-in-law's recent baby shower, I had a sudden craving for chicken and just couldn't resist. I've been eating chicken about once a week since. Shrugging off that twinge of guilt, I feel awesome for it!

For my friends, I decided to make Coq au Vin, using Ina Garten's recipe. She makes it so simple: "It's like Boeuf Bourguignon but with chicken." I love her. I think my favorite part of this dish is getting to set the pot on fire with cognac. For some reason, igniting an intentional fire in the kitchen makes me feel like a real cook.

And I don't think any pot of stew could be bad with an entire bottle of wine added to it. It took a little longer to brown the chicken than I'd expected and my friends waited half an hour for dinner. I was sorry for the delay, but they were graciously patient and said it was all worth it. The meal was a success. Not bad for my first try. It was a great night and we had a wonderful time, watching the fabulous duets on Glee.