Coq au Greek Vin.

For my mother-in-law, each turn in the road to her late husband's village (Mikrokleisoura) brings with it a story to share as we make the drive. "This is where we saw the hare!" she exclaims. Returning to the city after nightfall, their trip was once halted by this hare- he had become frozen in the headlights. They honked and honked, but the dear thing could not move for fear and shock. Finally she resolved to get out, but just as she reached the him, he snapped out of it and bounded off into the shrubby oaks. I'd never had her for an animal lover! It is wonderful how you can know someone for years and years, and still they can surprise you. "How kind!" I said. She turned, blinked twice, and patiently explained: "No, dear ...."

Stifado, a dish of stewed meat with wine, a little tomato, pearl onions, and gently sweet with allspice, is, apparently, so tasty that a sensible matron in a top-coat and beehive (it was the '70's), given the chance, will jump out of a car, wring a hare's neck, pop it into the trunk next to the 10 k tin of feta, and be on her way. (My second favorite mother-in-law story involves her inviting a neighbor over for coffee in the hopes she might offer to slaughter a chicken for her on the rooftop of their apartment building in downtown Thessaloniki. How do you not like a story with the line: "Put on some coffee. And bring me a knife." ?) I need hardly add that she is a wonderful cook.

It's a good dish, one of the more elaborate and slow iterations of the meat + onion/wine/tomato to be had. Coq au vin, faster but with a lot more ingredients, is another. Today's lunch combines the speed of the French dish with the simplicity of flavor of the Greek dish- not much stuff, not much time, everyone's happy. Just the thing for the chicken thighs in the freezer. All you need for them is an onion, the rest of last night's wine, a little tomato (fresh, canned, paste....) and some seasoning.

A warm steak has kept sauced rich foods from our table- it has been fresh fish and salads for days, and no complaining. After a week of this summer reprise, a softly overcast day- and a look at the calendar - made this warming hybrid just the thing:

We will need:

4 chicken pieces, with or without the bone

3 T olive oil

2 onions

a large glass of wine

a cup of pureed tomato, or tomato paste and water to make the equivalent

bay leaf

seasoning- either allspice and a clove, or sage and a little thyme

Thinly slice the onions and start softening them in the olive oil. After giving them a brief head start, add the chicken pieces, salt and pepper, and turn them until the chicken is no longer pink and the onions are softer and the pan has browned a bit. Add the wine, a little water, the seasoning, and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. Add the tomato and keep simmering, uncovered and adding water from time to time as needed, until the oil floats free and the sauce changes from dirty-pinkish to a rich mahogany. If the chicken was on the bone to begin with, it won't be any more. The sauce will have benefited, but you may want to fish out the bones for more elegant serving.

If you go with the sweet seasoning, it is perfect on rice or on egg noodles, or- as here- the time-consuming, heavy, and absolutely delicious classic accompaniment of fresh french fries. With the more savory options, mashed potatoes, or a soft polenta are a good choice. I won't deny a frozen chicken does not have the flavor of wild game, but you cannot always count on running into a hare when you need one.