Good-bye 2012, Hello 2013!

At the beginning of this year, I listed off some 2012 goals for Fifth Floor Kitchen- and looking back I think we did pretty good!  I’m so humbled and proud of this little space we have created, and since I’m feeling a little nostalgic about 2012, I wanted to share a handful of favorite highlights from this past year.

2012 Top 3 Recipe Posts:
1. Indian Chicken Soup

2. Vegetable Coq au Vin

3. Seasoned Popcorn 2 Ways

2012 Top 3 Travel Posts:
1. Bonn, Germany
2. Boston: Sam Adams Brewery Tour
3. Warsaw, Poland

Other 2012 Highlights:
1. We got married!  We had a wonderful wedding near Charlottesville, VA (check out our posts about this great city here and here) and we spent an amazing honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand (blog posts: Pt 1, Pt 2)!

2. Where else did we travel? Boston (Posts: 1, 2, 3), Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

3. Food-wise some of our personal favorites were: Cowgirl Creamery Cheese Pairing, Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese, Birthday Fruit Tart, Crunchy Fish Tacos with Chimichurri Sauce, Brazilian Fish & Shrimp Stew, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, S’more Cookie, and Buckwheat Crêpes with Corn Salsa.  If you haven’t tried these, definitely add them to your “to-do” list for 2013!

3. Other fun stuff: Eat Write Retreat Blogger Conference, Slave-free Tomato Day, Holiday White House Tour, An Edible Mosaic Book Launch, and being part of the Food Matters Project.

4. We also started a series “Monthly Reviews”, a great way to see some of our iPhone photos and adventures we might not write about: May, June, July, August, and November.  A December one is coming up soon!

Over the course of 2012 we have had 116 posts- that’s a lot of words, photographs and recipes!

But I do love the feeling of a New Year- a fresh start, being able to look ahead towards all the new opportunities this year will bring.  We are looking forward to 2013 to continue sharing our culinary and travel adventures with you all- remember to keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram!

We wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!  Thank you so much for reading, commenting and being part of Fifth Floor Kitchen!

Warm wishes for a happy new year!

Many hugs,
Evi & Sam

*Our wedding photos were taken by our friend Meaghin Kennedy- check out some of her photos here, or her blog: These Salty Oats

Food Matters Project #8: Vegetable Coq au Vin

Another Food Matters Project post, but this recipe was chosen by us- and I was so excited! We chose this recipe since we liked how Mark Bittman took a different take on it. He suggested swapping out some of the chicken for vegetables, such as eggplant and green beans. And just like every recipe from The Food Matters Cookbook, it is delicious!  Check out everyone dishes here.

For a supper club last winter we had made coq au vin (it’s French for “rooster with wine”). It’s a rustic French recipe which calls for braising chicken with wine, mushrooms and some pork fat. The recipe which we tried was from Barefoot Contessa, and everyone cleaned their plates!

So when I was browsing The Food Matters Cookbook, I couldn’t help and notice that Mark Bittman suggested a healthier version of this dish, with the addition of more vegetables. I didn’t need to look any further, and reserved this recipe for us.

Vegetable Coq au Vin
Adapted from: The Food Matters Cookbook (page 466)

When making this dish, I added even more eggplant and green beans than the recipe called for, while decreasing the amount of chicken. The eggplant melts into the sauce, so serve this dish with a baguette! I also didn’t use as much salt or pepper, but feel free to adjust it to your taste buds. Another addition that I’d make in the future, is to add carrots- about 3-4 chopped in pieces- and add it in at the same time as the other vegetables. By making this one day in advance, the flavors mature and sink in. You can also serve it over noodles or potatoes.

2 medium eggplants
3 tbsp salt
4-6 strips of bacon, chopped
5 chicken drumsticks, bone-in & with skin
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large shallots, chopped
3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken stock (preferable homemade)
2 cups fruity red wine (I used pinot noir)
3 bay leaves
1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp salted butter
1 tsp pepper

Cut the eggplant into disks, and sprinkle each disk, on each side, with salt. Allow the eggplant to rest for 20 minutes on a cutting board covered with paper towels. Then cut the eggplant disks into smaller pieces (into quarters or eighths).

In a Dutch oven or large pot, add in the bacon and cook it over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until the bacon gives up its fat and becomes crisp. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Then remove the bacon from the pot, and set it aside. With the pot over the burners, add the chicken. Allow it to cook, turning and rotating as necessary. Once all sides are browned, then remove the chicken from the pan.

Add in some olive oil, shallots, eggplant and mushrooms. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they being to turn brown (about 15 minutes). After about 5 minutes, stir in the garlic.

Then add the stock, wine, bay leaves, green beans and herbs. At this time, return the chicken and bacon into the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the temperature and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through at this point, if not, cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Next, remove the chicken from the pan and add butter to the liquid. Allow it to cook until it is reduced by half, and becomes saucy and thick. Sprinkle in pepper, or any additional salt.

If you’re making this dish ahead, refrigerate it at this point. If you’ll be eating it soon (or when you’re reheating), then add the chicken back into the pot and allow to warm up for about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. When serving, garnish the dish with parsley.