Rabbit for Easter

I've told this story before, but you know me. Je radote — I keep telling the same stories over and over again. Advanced age is to blame, I suppose.

Back in 1984, I think it was, Walt and I were living on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Easter rolled around, and we wondered what we might cook for our Easter Sunday dinner. I had always enjoyed eating rabbit in restaurants when I lived in Paris (1979-82). Somehow, Easter made me think of rabbit. In DC we lived near Eastern Market, a big indoor market hall where we often did our grocery shopping on Saturdays, and I had noticed several times that some vendors sold rabbits. So I bought one and cooked it for our Easter dinner. We've had rabbit on Easter every year since then. Today will be no exception — rabbit number 38.

I went to the outdoor market in Montrichard Friday morning and bought a rabbit. Yesterday I cut it up into serving-size pieces and put it in white wine to marinate overnight. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to cook it, but I know I'm going to stew or braise it, maybe with cream. By the way, rabbit is very lean and not strong-tasting. The liver and kidneys are good to eat too. Here in central France, a lot of people raise rabbits outdoor in cages as food.