Lapin a la Creme

French food is so perfect for a chilly evening. It's often very substantial with lots of cream and butter. Well the traditional French cuisine is, not the 3 peeled baby carrots served with a raspberry coulis or somesuch of Nouvelle Cuisine fame. This lapin à la crème is from the annals of classic French cooking and it'll keep you warm, fortify you and stick to your ribs (thighs, butt, etc.).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup "lardons" (unsmoked bacon or pancetta cut into 1 inch by 1/8 inch batons)
rabbit, cut into serving pieces, bone in
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup white wine
water to cover
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream (or as heavy as you heart/thighs will permit)

Method:
First put the lardons in a large pot over medium heat and allow then to get crunchy and all the fat to render. Remove lardons and leave fat. Place the rabbit pieces in one layer (you may have to do this in batches) raise the heat to high and brown on all sices. Remove rabbit pieces and leave fat. Now lower the back to medium and add the onions and carrots. Allow then to brown relatively slowly. Once they're brown add the flour and stir to create a roux (paste of fat and flour). Stir for 2 minutes to cook the flour then add the rabbit pieces and lardons back into the pot. Put in the bay leaf and add the wine. Cover just barely with water. bring to a boil over high heat then lower the heat to a bare simmer. Allow to cook this way for 1-1/2 hours partially covered. If the broth is too thin after 90 minutes, boil at high heat to get the sauce to the thickness of tomato sauce for spaghetti. Add the cream, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes and serve over something starchy like fettuccine, rice or polenta. Serve with a frenchy flourish. Something to eat Lapin à la crème by: Dinner theater: "Picasso at the Lapin Agile"