While an apértif precedes a meal, a digestif ends one.
Usually served neat, or without any ice or water, and in small amounts after eating, these typically dark-colored alcoholic beverages may aid in digestion.
Digestifs include heavy wines like ports, sherries, and madeiras, or spirits like cognacs, armagnacs, scotches, brandies, whiskies and herb-flavored liquors.
To macerate something is to soften it by soaking it in liquid. You usually hear the word used in recipes that include fresh or dried fruit. Macerating fresh fruit releases some of its juices, creating a sweet syrup.
Common liquids for macerating include citrus juice, wine, rum, brandy and -- our favorite for berries -- balsamic vinegar. A good rule of thumb: one tablespoon of liquid per cup of fruit.
Black pudding is the polite term for a charcuterie otherwise known as blood sausage or boudin noir, a dark-colored European and Russian sausage made primarily from pig's blood and fat bound up inside a pig's intestine, that is believed to have been invented by the ancient Greeks.
A number of flavorings can be added to the black pudding mixture, from onions to brandy, eggs, milk, spinach, cream, breadcrumbs, apples, prunes, raisins and herbs. The Scottish mix in blood-absorbing oatmeal or barley. The French boudin noir is fried or broiled and usually served with apples or mashed potatoes. Germans enjoy it with a side of hot potato salad, and the British and Irish serve it with bacon and potatoes.
Coq au vin is the name of a classic old French stew that used to mean rooster, or cock, cooked in wine. Old birds who'd been kept around for years needed to be braised slowly to soften up their meat, and the sauce for the dish was thickened with the cock's blood.
These days, we use chicken when making a coq au vin, and a roux to thicken the sauce.
The dish also contains ingredients including lardons, onions, mushrooms, carrots, chicken stock, brandy, garlic and seasonings in addition to the wine. Coq au vin is typically served with pasta, steamed potatoes or latkes.
