By now, I must have scandalized a number of people as many Americans consider rabbits as pets. Well for your information rabbits are in! It's a low fat, low cholesterol lean meat and quite tasty (a bit like chicken). Recently, we cooked two young rabbits [4] using our favorite recipe and invited a group of friends to give them the rabbit test. Well, the operation was a success and everyone of them is ready for another round... Ingredients: 1 Young rabbit 1/4 lb of bacon cut in small pieces salt and pepper 1/2 lb of mushrooms 1 tbs of Dijon mustard (of course, I use Grey Poupon) 1 tbs of red currant jelly 1 tbs of tarragon vinegar 1 1evel tbs of corn flour 1 oz of butter (see the marinade below) (1) joint the rabbit (i.e. divide it into pieces) [4] (2) Then place it into a large bowl and cover it (the rabbit must be completely covered) with a good red wine [5] (about 1 full bottle) to which a bouquet garnis consisting of thyme, parsley, small onions, 1 clove of garlic and carrots are added, salt and pepper to taste. Marinate the rabbit overnight (a very important step). (3) When ready to cook drain the wine marinade (and save it) from the rabbit and dry the meat with paper towels (do not wash). (4) Then, in a pot (with a cover) melt the bacon and cook the rabbit pieces very slowly for about 20 minutes altogether Season the rabbit and keep warm. (5) Pour the marinade into the pot and deglaze with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil and put the rabbit back into the pot. Reduce the sauce by half. Add the mushrooms. Then remove the rabbit pieces. Keep them warm. (6) Stir in the mustard, red currant jelly and vinegar and reduce the heat. Let the sauce simmer for a good 5 minutes in the covered pot. (7) Mix in the corn flour with a little water for a paste and stir it vigorously into the sauce which should be allowed to thicken by bringing to a boil. Put back on low heat and check the seasoning. Then, beat in the butter. This should produce a smooth and velvety sauce. (8) Place the rabbit pieces back into the sauce for another 10 minutes in the covered pot with reduced heat. (9) Transfer the rabbit and the sauce to a suitable platter. Serve with pasta (without seasoning; no tomato sauce, please). Do not put the rabbit over the pasta but on the side of the dish next to it. Pour some sauce over the rabbit. Some people like some sauce on the pasta, some don't. Additional notes: (1) The delicious sauce is a reduction sauce and does not pile up calories. It is an essential part of the dish. Do not avoid it. Once more, it's delicious. (2) We like to soak up the sauce with pieces of fresh French bread (and our guests did too). (3) You can also serve this with a dish of green lentils and/or chestnut puree (not the sweet kind) or a jardiniere of sweet early peas and small carrots. (4) The importance of thorough marination cannot be overstressed. (5) Finally the dish can be prepared ahead of time (and even frozen) and reheated before serving. The taste is actually considerably improved when the dish is prepared the day before. (The leftovers are even better still, as apparently the wine sauce penetrates the meat more completely.) (6) A good wine like a good California red Zinfandel is recommended. (7) We served 6 people with two rabbits and had some left over. By the way, it's wonderful fall or winter dish. More Leona's Corner Napoleon's Coronation and the Imperial Family The Napoleonic Soldier and Game My Preferred Way of Cooking Rabbits Footnotes [4] Most of the time, rabbit found in supermarkets is already cut into pieces. [5] An inexpensive California red Zinfandel makes a wonderful sauce and is highly recommended. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 2 No. 9 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Emperor's Headquarters This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com