Virgil Thomson's Secret Coq au vin Recipe

Last Friday (August 19), Hotel Chelsea resident and composer Gerald Busby, premiered a large scale piece interspersing monologues (“Who to Thank” and “Tomorrow’s Butter”) and music (Rhapsody for Cello, Nocturne for Piano, Hop In, and Bullet Proof Bikini) as part of the ComposersCollaborative’s Serial Underground.

In an intimate and informal setting at the Cornelia Street Café, The Monologuing Composer took the audience on a tour that began in Tyler, Texas and wound its way to the Chelsea Hotel. Gerald shared amusing stories about the major influences on his career including: his mother, his English teacher, Baptist minister Angel Martinez, his German piano teacher, Mildred Baker (another former Chelsea Resident), leather bars, and finally Virgil Thomson.

To hear Gerald tell it, his relationship with Virgil was more like an apprenticeship than a relationship.  The two obviously had something in common, besides music, and that was the love of good food.  Gerald has worked as a cook at some of New York’s finest restaurants and according to Gerald, Virgil had a very refined palate.

Gerald recalled Virgil calling him on the house phone and in his nasal voice request that Gerald, “run me up a Crème Brule, Philip Johnson and his wife are coming over for dinner.” (A reference to the architect and his partner I presume.)

One of the many food highlights of the evening was when Gerald shared Virgil Thomson’s coq au vin recipe.  Here it is, handed down from Virgil to Gerald and now to you!

1. Cut up the chicken into eighths.
2. Braise chicken with a rendering of beef suet.
3. Add a cup of shallots and a cup of your best Burgundy.  Simmer until done.
4. Serve with the rest of the Burgundy.

Afterwards, the audience was buzzing.  “The recipe sounds so simple and delicious, but what exactly is beef suet?” a theatre critic in attendance asked. Unfortunately, there were no foodies in this crowd of avant garde music lovers who could answer his question. After much discussion amongst ourselves we felt pretty confident that it was some sort of FAT.   Needless to say, we all went home hungry!  Later, I looked in the dictionary and discovered Beef Suet is raw beef or mutton fat, especially the hard fat found around the loins and kidneys. Word on the street is that Gerald has a cookbook project in the works.

Enough about food. You can purchase Gerald’s CD online.