If you are in New York City you know that although it is technically spring, it still feels like winter. Most of last week was very windy and cold. We were too spoiled with short winters last year and now we are being babies about this one. The one good thing about this long winter is we get to enjoy stews for a little longer (not that I wouldn’t cook stew in the spring or summer mind you). I decided to make this classic french stew: Coq au vin! 

Stews are so easy to make, and a great way to use veggies. This was the first time I made coq au vin. This French stew is usually made with a rooster but you can use chicken as well as I did. coq au vin is essentially chicken, bacon, veggies and wine. What’s not to like?!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of thick cut bacon, chopped
1 1/2-2lbs bone in chicken
3-5 carrots
3/4 medium white onion
1 medium shallot
4 garlic cloves
1 pckg of fresh mushrooms
2 tbs butter
2-3 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme (remove the stems)
Fresh parsley
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 bottle of red wine (not too sweet - I used Shiraz)
3-4 oz of cognac
6-7 black peppercorns
1 tbs tomato paste
Salt and pepper
1 tbs flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by washing and chopping up the carrots, onions, shallots, garlic and mushrooms. 

Using a large and heavy pot cook the bacon on medium heat.  Cook the bacon for 5-6 minutes until it starts to crisp up.  Be mindful not to let it burn.  

Wash and season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aide for now.  

Remove the bacon from the pot and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken for about 7-8 minutes.  

Remove the bacon from the pot and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken for about 7-8 minutes.  

Meanwhile, in another skillet melt the butter. 

Add the mushrooms and season them with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms on low heat. 

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

Add the chopped onions, carrots, shallots and garlic to the pot.

Remove the onions and carrots from the pot and set aside. (Lots of adding and removing here hahahaha!)

Add the chicken back to the pot and pour in the cognac.  

Light a match or a lighter so the cognac ignites! 

Once the flames go down it is time to add everything to the pot. Add the onions and carrots, mushrooms, bacon, bay leaves and thyme.

Add the tomato paste, 1/2 of the bottle of wine and chicken stock. Mix the tomato paste in and braise covered for 30 minutes. 

Mix in the flour with a few spoonfuls of the broth and use it to thicken up the stew. 

Mix in the flour with the stew and add the remaining wine to the stew. 

Cook for another 5-10 minutes and serve. 

Top with fresh parsley and serve with some crusty bread and red wine and enjoy!

This is such a happy and filling dish. 

I used the bread to soak up the broth. Emil and I ate the whole thing. This was delicious and we kept going back to the pot for refills. 

When I first started cooking this I was nervous because it seemed like such a daunting task but it ended up being quite easy. I found that having the ingredients cut up and ready to go really eased up the process. 

I hope you try making this at home. My parents are in town so I might try making this for them sometime soon. 

This is all for now. I hope you had a great weekend and an even better week ahead. 

xoxo,
Josie

I am finally writing about Machu Picchu… yay!

Machu Picchu is an Inca site located on the Urubamba Valley in the Cusco region of Peru. Although it was built around 1450, the site was not discovered until 1911. It has since become an important tourist attraction. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 

Machu Picchu is about 50 miles northwest of Cusco. We took the one day trip to the site, which started at 4am. 

We took a bus from Cusco to a town called Ollantytambo, there we took a train to a town called Aguas Calientes, and from there we took another bus to the entrance of the park. 

The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. 

Bus ride from Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu National Park.

We arrived at the entrance of the Machu Picchu National Park at 8:45am. We began the tour shortly after. We walked for about 30 minutes and then, the lost city appeared right before our eyes!

I could not believe I was there. Sometimes I still can’t. 

The fact that I took these pictures, in person, is pretty mind blowing!! 

As part of the tour, we were able to walk around the city and learn about the how the Incas lived. It is pretty amazing how they built this city. Everything has a use, there is a complex water drainage system and each area has a specific use. Oh, and have I mentioned they did all this without the wheel?! Yeah! I know! WOAH!

The tour took about 2 hours and then we had free time to explore Machu Picchu independently. 

We brought in sandwiches and water and had a picnic. This was our view:

yup!

THIS!

So after lunch, we walked around some more. There was so much to see everywhere!

I was the typical tourist: water bottle, backpack, 4 cameras… hahahaha!!

The pictures do not do this place any justice. It was breathtaking, and I am not just talking about the altitude (Machu Picchu is 7,970 ft above sea level)!! 

This was such an educational and peaceful experience. I have always wanted to go to Machu Picchu; I had to pinch myself while I was there!  

Now I need to plan my next adventure!!

Well, this is all for now.  If you know me, you know I took many more pictures (I had FOUR cameras on me that day. FOUR), you can check out my flickr page for them. 

Alright, until next time my friends. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,
Josie

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I made this dish last night for Emil and I. We wanted a quick dinner and since it was already past 9pm, I wanted something that would not be too heavy. I took a look in the fridge and coverts and came up with this: eggs with tomatoes and chickpeas!

INGREDIENTS:
3 large eggs
1/4 large white onion
3 garlic cloves
5 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes
1 large can of chick peas
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 tbs chopped basil
1 tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:
Start by getting all the ingredients ready. Chop up the onion, garlic, basil, thyme, parsley and sun-dried tomatoes.

Drain and rinse the chick peas. 

Heat up the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Cook the onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and half of the thyme, parsley and basil for 2 minutes.  

Mix in the chick peas and cook them for 3-4 minutes. 

Mix in the diced tomatoes and the rest of the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Cook the tomatoes and chick peas for 4-5 minutes. 

Crack open the eggs on top of the tomatoes/chick peas. 

Cook covered unti the whites are set. 

That’s it! 

Top with some fresh chopped parsley and basil and serve with a light salad or some bread and enjoy. 

This is such a light but filling dish. I love the combination of chick peas and tomatoes. 

Emil and I really enjoyed this dinner. Quick, filling and tasty! Not bad for a pantry dish, huh?

I hope you try making this at home one day. I promise it is wonderful. 

Have a great day!!

xoxo,
Josie

At the begging of January I was growing restless and ice of winter. I have never liked the cold, I tolerate it since I live in New York, but I am not a big fan. After the huddle and bustle of the holidays, I was bored. The days were short, dark and cold. I needed out. I had always wanted to go to Machu Picchu; so I figured I deserved it after the crappy months I’d had. So I got to planning. While chatting about it with my friend Lorraine, she sort of invited herself on the trip and It was settled, we were going to Peru the third week of February!

We arrived in Cusco after some 27 hours of traveling. Everyone told us to take things easy on the first day there because of the altitude. Cusco is 11,200ft above sea level and the altitude can really knock you down. But Lorraine and I, being the awesome people we are, hit the ground running.

We went to the San Blas neighborhood, one of the highest points on Cusco. This is an artisanal neighborhood were we found musicians and artists working on traditional artisanal pieces. They were gorgeous!

OF COURSE… We found an irish pub so that night we decided to go out for ONE pint.  Of course that didn’t work out. We were out dancing until 7am. Which we did every night during our time in Cusco.  It was so much fun!

The architecture in Cusco is beautiful. It is mainly Spanish colonialist but there are Inca elements everywhere.  For example, a lot of the building have Inca foundations. You can see it in the picture above with the big boulders on the bottom and colonial elements as you go further up. Most of the houses have wooden balconies, which have these beautiful details. 

As we explored Cusco, we fell more and more in love with it. 

This city was beautiful but noting could’ve prepared us or Machu Picchu. The lost city is absolutely breathtaking.  

But I will stop for now. I will write about the lost city in my next post. I should get ready for work now ;)

If you want to see more of my pictures from this trip, check out my Flickr. I was THAT annoying tourist with 4 cameras at all times. It was fabulous! HA!

Until next time!!

xoxo,
Josie

PS. Today is this blog’s anniversary. Happy Birthday Blog!!