My friend Monica has re-inspired my blogging lately! Thanks girlie! Well, today was an interesting one for me. I woke up with a passion to get stuff done outside and it really looked like Mother Nature was going to cooperate with me. She has a great sense of humor, by the way. Anyway, I was in my garden hoeing the raised beds and feeling great when I saw a white flash go by my face. Hmm…could it be white flies already? Then another one…and another. No, not white flies at all, but rather SNOWFLAKES! Unbelievable! I figured what the heck, I’m out here already so I’m just going to keep hoeing, and that I did! The snowflakes didn’t last long, thankfully. So 2 beds are turned and ready for a fresh layer of compost….now I just have 7 more to go! Anyone want to help? 🙂
My business has been gobbling up our reserve funds lately, so I’ve been getting really creative with our meals in an effort to stay away from the money pit known as Safeway. After digging through the freezer, I hit the jackpot! A whole chicken! Now what can I do to it that’s interesting and not the same old roasted bird! Luckily my Dad had come for dinner the other night and brought an enormous bottle of red wine (which was hardly consumed). So, whole chicken and red wine = Coq au Vin. Below is my recipe for Coq au Vin, I hope you enjoy it. If you’re not a wine drinker, the wine gets reduced for 25 minutes and most, if not all, of the alcohol will be burned off. Mange!!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (bones left in)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, scrapped and diced
- 3 large shallots, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 750ml bottle of red wine (pinot noir or cab sauv)
- 3 cups chicken stock, homemade preferably
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 large sprigs thyme
- 5 whole peppercorns
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
Instructions
- Instructions
- Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and add olive oil. When it just begins to smoke add the chicken pieces without crowding (2 batches preferably), saute 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken and place on a plate while you finish the remaining pieces, removing to plate when they are browned. Add onion, carrots and shallot and saute for 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes. Add red wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil for 20-25 minutes, until reduced by 1/2. Add chicken pieces and any juices that have accumulated on the plate back to the pot along with the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Cover pot almost completely and simmer for 1 1/4 hours, turning the chicken once.
- When the chicken is done, remove it to a plate and strain the juices through a fine meshed sieve, pressing on the vegetables to extract as much juice as possible. Return the juice to the pot and heat on medium low. Skim off any fat. Mash the butter and flour together with a fork in a small bowl. Slowly add to the red wine sauce, whisking to incorporate. Bring to a bare simmer.
- Return chicken to the sauce and let reheat for a few minutes before serving.
- I served this with mashed potatoes moistened with reduced chicken stock and steamed spring peas. YUM!
2 comments
So, do you think you can give me a demo of cutting up a whole chicken. I’m so not into touching raw chicken and clearly don’t know what to do. The problem is I have 4 whole chickens in my freezer. Better find a use for them soon.
I’m happy to hear that I motivated you! It’s the least I can do. Happy cooking! PS What’s this I hear about snow in our forecast…can it be true?????
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