Monday, October 25, 2010

Wabbit Season


“Rabbit??" Mike replied with his brow furrowed after I told him what Devon and I were preparing for Saturday night’s dinner. “Are you opposed?” I asked. He claimed he wasn’t, but I knew exactly what he was thinking. I could almost see the image of Coco (aka Mr. Wiggles) in a thought bubble over his head.

Coco is our octogenarian rabbit.

We acquired him during a live auction at a fundraiser for a local preschool. The bidding started at $5. But for some reason no one placed a bid. Of course by that time in the evening I’d had a few glasses of wine. So, when they asked plaintively if someone would please give the bunny a home my arm shot up. After all, he was so cute! He came with a cute little bunny hutch complete with a crock for food and a bottle for water. Plus, I reasoned to myself, we had a 10 year old at home who would love to have a bunny.

It turned out the bunny needed a new home because he wasn’t very friendly. To make a long story short, for the past 8 years Mike has been the primary care giver for Coco. As far as we know he is at least 10 years old. He is now blind and deaf. The little guy holds a special place in Mike’s heart. A sort of a kinship has formed between the two of them; both male, both senior citizens. I couldn’t blame Mike for his initial reaction given their bond.
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Luckily, when presented with a succulent plate of Chez Panisse chef David Tanis’s Rabbit in Mustard Sauce the furrowed brow had disappeared and an expression of anticipation had replaced it. He even managed seconds

We served our wabbit, as we had taken to calling it teasingly to Mike, with classic potato gratin and a spinach cake.













Here’s the Rabbit in Mustard Sauce Recipe we acquired from Sauver.com, which by the way, is a great magazine with a website that we highly recommend.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Rabbit-in-Mustard-Sauce