I was hunting around for a feel good movie; I had been watching way too much of a creepy tv show and I really wanted a palette cleanser. Enter Leap Year, a romcom from 2012 starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. I had never heard of this film before but a lot of my friends thought it was a cute one and recommended it for easy watching, so I thought I would give it a try; at the very least it would get the creepy tv show out of my brain for a while.

Leap Year is set in Ireland where, Anna (Amy Adams) wishes to invoke an Irish tradition that a man who is proposed to on Leap Day must accept the proposal. However, flight delays, unexpected landings, and brutal storms somehow land her in the small town of Dingle where she must stay the night at the town’s only inn and beg for a ride to Dublin (where her boyfriend is staying to attend a conference), before the 29th. The bar owner/inn keeper Declan (Matthew Goode) is in a financial bind and decides that it would be somewhat easy money to take her to Dublin in order to save his pub. Funny travel antics ensue but so does flirtation and when Anna and Declan finally make it to Dublin there is a lot left unsaid. The film doesn’t end there but I don’t want to ruin the ending for those of you that plan to check this movie out. I definitely enjoyed it because at times the relationship between Declan and Anna seems very relatable-they even tease each other with their own private jokes!

One crucial part of romancing someone, according to almost every romcom ever, is to cook/eat with the person that you fancy. This happens in Leap Year during a scene where Declan and Anna cook a meal together from scratch where they are lodgers and must pretend to be married in order to spend the night. During this scene they drink, they laugh, they stand close together and do all the flirty things that people do when romancing each other…I mean cooking together.

The dish they make in this scene is a Coq au Vin, which I thought interesting because it’s a French dish, but the film is set in Ireland; after doing some research it began to make sense. Coq au Vin is traditionally a peasant dish; created as a way to use roosters (cocks) that had no other use on the homestead. Over the course of the last century, it has become popularized by many celebrity chefs, increasing it’s status and it’s price tag in swanky restaurants. The fact that they are cooking a humble peasant dish that moonlights as a gourmet meal is symbolic of the wealthy Anna and the financially struggling Declan coming together.

Also, the fact that Anna learns how to cook this from Declan is a nod to him having the upper hand in the situation. She had been able to call the shots so far on their journey because she was financing it; he is offering her something that money isn’t able to procure. With her guard down she is able to be herself and to accept Declan more easily. They begin to like each other when their class differences aren’t getting in the way. They come closer to being equals while cooking the dish together and they are really able to see each other for the first time which sparks the attraction.

I have never made this dish before but Anna and Declan made it look like it would be fun. I  looked at several recipes ranging from simple to desperately gourmet and came up with something I feel is authentic to the film and the integrity of the dish.

First, I diced up some good bacon I got at a local market and cooked it in my new Dutch oven that I have been dying to use. I removed the bacon and used the bacon fat to brown my chicken. It doesn’t matter what parts of the chicken you use but bone in is definitely the way to go here.  Once all my chicken pieces were browned I removed those from the pot as well. I then put in the carrots and then after a minute or two, some leeks; onion is traditionally used here but in the film Declan specifically mentions the leeks and I thought this would be a good place for them to fit.

After that, everything else gets put back in the pot and it hangs out in the oven for  almost an hour. In a separate pot I cooked the cut mushrooms and chunks of onion and then added them to the stew. I served this as-is with a side of crusty bread to sop of the juices and it was great. I also tried eating leftovers over mashed potatoes which  I liked even better; I have heard of people enjoying this dish over egg noodles but never got the chance. If you try it this way, let me know how it is in the comment section! Overall, this dish was feel good comfort; I felt the same way watching Leap Year and I suggest checking out both of them!

Leap Year: Coq au Vin

Ingredients:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon from the pot.
2.  Lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
3. Add the carrots to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, add leeks stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate back into the pot.
4. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
5. Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew.
6.  In a medium pan, add the remaining butter and cook the mushrooms and onions over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew.
7. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot-this dish is very good served over mashed potatoes or perhaps egg noodles.