Chicken in Cointreau with Ratatouille, Languedoc-style

So there I was, staring at a bottle of the world's most distinguished orange-flavored liqueur, made by France's Cointreau family since the mid-nineteenth century. Call me a fool if you like, but I took it  as a sign that I should "get thee to a kitchen" and work with Cointreau in some fashion. But first, I needed to remember how it tasted. Cointreau, Ladies and Gentlemen, is clear and colorless with an intensely exotic, mildly bitter orange flavor—the result of a combination of the peel of sour oranges (from the Caribbean island of Curaçao) sweet orange peel from Spain, multiple revolutions, many a fair maiden, pistol duels, adventure and treachery on the high-seas. How could I not embrace this intoxicating liqueur? I had another sip. Yes I was ready, the vision had appeared before my very eyes and disappeared as quickly. Stand back mes amis, cook or be cooked.

Poulet au Cointreau or Chicken in Cointreau

Ingredients:

4- 6 chicken thighs

3-4 oz of Cointreau (better measurement is to just pour)

1 orange

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Water (or white wine.)

Directions:

Ahead of time, steep those thighs in the Cointreau, the juice of one orange, salt and pepper and let marinate in the fridge for about 2 hours. There is a little prep work involved.

Place the chicken in a baking dish and cook at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Every so often add a splash of water (God no, add white wine please!) 

Serve with Chichoumé and baby potatoes.

Chichoumé or Ratatouille -Languedoc-style

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 green pepper

2 1/2 cups eggplant

6 cups zucchini

1 onion

3.4 cup smoked bacon chopped

1 1/2 cup tomato concentrate

2 cups water

sea salt and cracked pepper

olive oil

Directions:

Peel and slice zucchini, sweat in pan then cut in small cubes.

Cut in small cubes your pepper, eggplant (peele) and onion. 

Transer your vegetables and the bacon to a deep casserole and add olive oil liberally. 

Cook over medium heat for 75 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the tomato concentrate.

Through the cooking, add a little water so your vegetables do not stick to the pan (not good.)

Serve proudly to your guests.

Now about those wines...

This combination of dishes makes for some interesting wines to consider. Granted the chicken with the Cointreau calls for a little robustness in a wine. So I am suggesting a couple of solid Bordeaux reds. How can you go wrong with that? But because the palate is a strange creature, I want to add a couple of selections from the Rhone valley and from the Languedoc region. A balanced approach of wine that neither sneers in the face of the dish nor lies down complacently. Clever? Yes, I thought so as well. Enjoy.

2006 Château du Raux Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux

2006 Château Cap Léon Veyrin Listrac Médoc Supérieur, Bordeaux

2004 Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois Château Beau Site

1998 Corton Château Corton Grancey Louis La tour 

2007 Mas Bruguiere La Grenadiere, Côteaux du Languedoc

2009 Robert Arnoux Vacqueyras "Seigneur de Lauris" Rhone Valley