Coq au Vin dinner at Dominique’s Kitchen

By Bryan Tsunoda on May 1st, 2014

Dominique’s Kitchen recently hosted a pre-fixe dinner featuring the French classic dish, Coq au Vin. Like their other pre-fixe dinners, the event sold out.

Coq au Vin literally means rooster with wine. It is one of the more well known French dishes due to its wonderful flavor. Coq au Vin was originally considered peasant food as the farmers would make do with what they had on hand.

Guests were served a glass of prosecco from Cupcake Vineyards

The evening started out with a glass of prosecco from Cupcake Vineyards. Plates of charcuterie were available for early grazing which quickly got everyone in the mood.

The first item served was their white bean salad and marinated olives. This is Dominique’s Kitchen’s regular appetizer which is served complimentary.

Organic greens rissoto with chopped baby zucchini, artichoke hearts and peas

Organic greens risotto with chopped baby zucchini, artichoke hearts and peas

Looking at the menu, I wasn’t sure what to make of organic greens risotto. After tasting it, I was instantly hooked. The combination of the risotto with cheese and garlic pesto is truly addicting. Chopped baby zucchini, artichoke hearts, and peas gave the risotto additional texture and flavor.

Coq au Vin over truffle mashed potatoes

The Coq au Vin arrived next. It was served on top of a bed of truffle mashed potatoes. The red wine sauce contained celery and pearl onions and was simply amazing. After speaking with Dominique, I found out that bacon was used to give the sauce that special taste.

I assumed that we were eating chicken as I’ve never seen rooster for sale. Knowing that he was trained in France, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he told me that it was rooster. He marinated it for 24 hours in the red wine sauce and braised it for about 3 ½ hours.

The marinade had completely permeated through the bone making the meat full of flavor. I savored the sauce by mopping up the plate with the mashed potatoes (I hope no one was looking!)

Panna cotta with infused pineapple and mint

Panna cotta is a gelatin based dessert that has its roots in Italy. Dominique livened it up by infusing it with pineapple and mint. It was a tasty light dessert which was appreciated given the amount of food we consumed.

Corkage for the evening was only $5! We brought in a nice Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita appellation which paired nicely with the meal.

I’m happy that I didn’t procrastinate on making the reservation. As the saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm” or in this case, the rooster.