Bistro classics no. 2: Chicken Chasseur

For many years when I was younger, I thought this dish was called Chicken Chaucer. It was only many years later when studying The Pardoner's Tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer that I realised my mistake. Chicken Chasseur or hunter's chicken is a rich chicken dish made with tomatoes, white wine and cognac. This recipe is by no means authentic but I hope it captures some essence of what it is. That should include a rich, slightly tangy and sweet sauce, the tomato fragrance just lingering on the air as an after thought to the wine and cognac and the delicate but savoury chicken falling off the bone through long, slow cooking. 

Bistro classics number 1: Beef Bourguignon

When I was growing up, my parents would take me out for dinner from an early age, (starting around 9), where I was introduced to lots of good food and bistro classics. I especially remember Coq Au Vin at a local restaurant, cooked for hours until falling off the bone and a meal of chicken braised in Vodka followed by chocolate mousse with brandy that was so good I was allowed to eat two! I think it was partly that my parents wanted to go out and not deliver me to my grandmothers every Saturday and partly because they could see how much I appreciated food and eating at restaurants and so probably enjoyed watching me tuck in to such adult tastes at such a young age.