Small Town: Birthday Coq Au Vin

Maybe it was the inspiration of our wine tasting trip that prompted me to make coq au vin for my mom’s birthday on Tuesday night. Her birthday was Wednesday but since we were still home for break on Tuesday I decided to make her a special birthday meal since we weren’t going to be there for it.

Menu:

Coq Au Vin

Parsley potatoes

Arugula salad with grapefruit, cucumbers, and homemade vinaigrette

Strawberry Lemon cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

I obviously had no idea how much I had my work cut out for me! I thought coq au vin was easy!! But in no way was it simple. Good thing is was incredibly delicious though. One regret, I should have added peas, (Julia forgive me!)

The Dinner "guests" were my mom, Aaron, Amanda, my Aunt Jeanna, and my cousin Reaghan. There was just enough for everyone.

This is probably one of the most intense meals I have ever made. It was simpley time consuming, but oh was it good!

When looking at the recipe you might notice that I use “real” bacon instead of turkey like usual. Honestly, we only had smoked pork bacon and I didn’t want to ruin the intended flavor so I simply sucked it up and dealt with the after-meal stomach ache. It was worth it.

Another note, I used big chopped pieces of split chicken breasts for the most flavor with the skin on. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts.

If you decide to make Coq Au Vin, be warned that it is very time consuming (took me over 3 hours with everything else as well.)

This is definitely what I would classify as a “special occasion” meal.

I followed this recipe pretty closely only doubling the amount of mushrooms (trust me you need at least 16 oz. I would even suggest more!)

Note: I did use a flambé technique in this recipe so be aware and don’t do this step without anyone else around. (Aaron took the picture!) I was terrified but it wasn’t that bad.

I have also been told that it is even better to cook Coq Au Vin the day before and just reheat so the flavors are completely settled.

P.s. the recipe called for “4 oz. of bacon” and not knowing how much that was I used 8 slices. Trust me, it was good especially since the bacon is used mostly to render the fat. Yum!!

Good Luck!

Coq Au Vin: about 4 servings (we served six and in my opinion you need more!)


(Adapted from WhatscookingAmerica.net)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken, skin on and thoroughly dried

4 ounces lean thick-cut bacon (I used 8 slices)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup cognac

2 cups red wine (I used Pinot Noir but you can use Burgundy, Beaujolais or Chianti)
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Brown-Braised Onions (see recipe below)
Mushrooms (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Parsley sprigs

Directions:

NOTE: Both Onions and mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside in separate bowls, then reheated when needed.


Brown-Braised Onions:
2 medium white onions cut into large pieces.
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Drop onions into boiling water, bring water back to the boil, and let boil for 1 minute.

 

Remove from heat and drain. Cool onions in ice water.

 

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil, add parboiled onions, and toss for several minutes until lightly browned (this will be a patchy brown).

Add water to halfway up onions and add 1/4 to1/2 teaspoon salt. (I used garlic salt for extra flavor.)

Cover pan and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes or until onions are tender when pierce with a knife.

Set onions aside ina bowl.


Mushrooms:


1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered if large
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat butter and olive oil.

When bubbling hot, toss in mushrooms and saute over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from heat and place in bowl.


Chicken and Sauce:

Dry chicken thoroughly in a towel. Season chicken with salt and pepper; set aside.


Remove any rind off the bacon and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4-inch across and 1-inch long).

In a saucepan, simmer the bacon sticks in 2 quarts of water for 10 minutes; remove from heat,
drain, rinse in cold water, and pat dry.


In a large heavy frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil until moderately hot.

 

Add the bacon and saute slowly until they are lightly browned.

Remove bacon to a side dish.

Place chicken pieces into the hot oil (not crowding pan), and brown on all sides.

Return bacon to the pan, cover pan, and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning chicken once.

After browning the chicken, uncover pan, pour in the cognac. Flambe by igniting with a lighted match. Let flame a minute, swirling pan by its handle to burn off alcohol; extinguish with pan cover.

 Pour the red wine into the pan and add just enough chicken broth to completely cover the chicken pieces.

Stir in tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme.

Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cover pan, and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes or until the chicken meat is tender when pierced with a fork or an instant-read meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

When the chicken is done cooking, remove from the pan to a platter, leaving the cooking liquid in the pan.

Increase heat to high and boil the cooking liquid rapidly until approximately 2 cups of liquid remains.

While the liquid is boiling, in a small bowl, blend the 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons softened butter into a smooth paste; beat the flour/butter mixture into the approximately 2 cups hot cooking liquid with a whisk. Simmer and stir for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened (the result will be a sauce thick enough to lightly coat a spoon - just thick enough to coat the chicken and vegetables lightly). If sauce is too thin, boil down rapidly to concentrate; if sauce is too thick, thin out with additional spoonfuls of chicken stock. Taste the final sauce, adding more salt and pepper only if necessary.


Before serving, reheat the onions and mushrooms (if necessary).

Serve chicken on a large platter. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Arrange the Brown-Braised Onions on one side of the chicken and the Mushrooms on the other side.

Decorate with sprigs of parsley. Accompany with parsley potatoes, ( or rice, or noodles; buttered green peas) and a green salad; hot French bread; and the same red wine you used for cooking the chicken.

And definitely make cupcakes too!
 

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisner

What is your favorite meal for a special occassion?