*Coq au Vin*
Since the inception of my blog just less than a year ago I’ve wanted to post a recipe for Coq au Vin, but I’ve been reluctant to do so. For one, it’s such a classic recipe that there are already countless versions to be found in a number of cookbooks from well established home chefs - why add to an already cluttered playing field of Coq au Vin recipes? Second, given that this recipe is most certainly “tried and tested”, I didn’t want to put out a recipe that seems regurgitated, incomplete, or not up to par with other variations from renowned chefs who have acquired, deservingly, god like statuses. “How could I ever measure up to that?” I wondered. Nevertheless, and perhaps despite my better judgement, I’m going to toss my chicken into the pan (this is supposed to be a pun equivalent to “toss my hat in the ring” but I couldn’t come up with anything better at the moment).
My own version of coq au vin has been derived from three years worth of practice. I know the basic ingredients that go into the dish -chicken, bacon, wine, various aromatics and herbs - it’s been getting the correct measurements that agree with my personal palette. This also brings me to an important realization, I don’t need to have a perfect recipe that suits or accommodates everyones personal tastes. This is what works for me and mine and if you like it, great. Try it out yourself. If not, well, you can probably find a recipe that better suits your own tastes or you can modify it how you’d like. Again, this is what works for me.
In the most classic of versions you’ll find that recipes call for a whole chicken cut into its various parts - breasts, thighs, legs, wings - but I personally feel the breasts get too dry and the meat on the wings is often miniscule and not worth the effort. Thus, in my own rendition I only use thighs and legs. I also don’t like using a whole bottle of wine in the recipe; I think half a bottle is sufficient and even tastes better this way. Feel free to drink what remains in the bottle - Chef’s treat.
Coq au Vin (serves 6)
Ingredients:
8-9 oz thick cut bacon (3 or 4 thick slices), cut into lardons
3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, about 8 - 10 total
Kosher salt
3 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut diagonally into 3-inch chunks
4 large shallots, quartered
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup cognac or brandy
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or 1 1/2 cups boiling water with 1 1/2 teaspoons of Better than Bullion)
1/2 bottle of red wine, preferably Pinot Noir (3 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Small handful of thyme
2 bay leaves
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 pound mushrooms, quartered
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F, with a rack in the bottom third of the oven.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until the back has rendered its fat and is crispy, around 10 minutes. Remove bacon to bowl lined with paper towels.
3. Thoroughly dry the chicken legs and thighs using paper towels. Working in batches, sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and then brown the chicken over medium heat until the skin is golden brown and crispy all over. Transfer to a plate and continue with the remaining chicken.
4. To the same skillet add the carrots, shallots, garlic and previously cooked bacon. Sprinkle on a bit of salt. Cook for a few minutes until everything is fragrant, deglazing the pan as you stir everything around, making sure to get all the crispy bits that may be on the bottom of the skillet. Transfer all of this, juices and all, to a dutch oven set over medium heat.
6. Add the chicken to the dutch oven with the vegetables and bacon. Pour over everything the cognac. With a match or long lighter, ignite and flambé (the flame with subside when the alcohol has burned off). Pour in the chicken stock and wine, add the tomato paste and then the herbs. Bring to the simmer. Cover tightly with a lid and place in the pre-heated oven. Braise for 30 minutes and remove from the oven when finished.
7. Meanwhile in a non-stick skillet heat the oil and two tablespoons of the butter over medium high heat. When the butter foam begins to dissipate, add the quartered mushrooms and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove to a side dish.
8. Shortly before pulling the chicken out of the oven, combine in a small bowl the flour and butter and smooth into a paste. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the hot liquid, stirring to eliminate all lumps. Pour the mixture into sauce and gently stir. Add the mushrooms to the pot, cover, and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cooks. Just before serving, taste for salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and the thyme stems.
9. Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles. Asparagus or Brussel sprouts are a nice vegetable to go along with the dish as well.
Chicken Breasts with Creamy Sizzled Leak and Mushroom Sauce, featuring Broccoli
It’s Saturday again, which is arguably the best day of the week. It’s the only day of the week, in fact, that you go to sleep the night before knowing you won’t work the next day and go to sleep knowing you won’t work again the next. Every other day of the week you go to bed with work obligations looming overhead. Don’t get me wrong, I love my day job but it is still work after all.
As I’m writing this, I am doing so knowing well that I should instead be working on my research proposal for my masters program. I’m researching, or rather should be, about the effect of graduation rates of students of color who also have or have had a teacher of color. I hypothesize that indeed there is a correlation between higher graduation rates among black students who also have or have had a black teacher. It’s fascinating stuff but right now all I want to do is think about cooking, which is both a passion and now a perfectly suitable way to procrastinate.
My fridge is still full of produce from the Thanksgiving holiday and everything in it is teetering the fine line between fresh and beginning to wilt. I have some leeks that are slightly soft but still completely edible, potatoes that will certainly be too far gone by mid next week if I don’t use them immediately, goose fat, broccoli which I have no idea when I bought or if I even bought it but for now looks fresh, a package of dry porcini mushrooms that I forgot to use the other day, a few lemons, and an embarrassing amount of unused fresh herbs because I overestimated how many I would actually need for Thanksgiving. Oh, there is also the chicken I thawed out yesterday but didn’t end up making because I decided I was too tired and pizza sounded easier. This all to say it was the perfect hodgepodge of things to throw together today for a delicious late lunch.
Chicken Breasts with Creamy Leak and Mushroom Sauce, featuring Broccoli (serves 2 - 4)
Ingredients:
1 - 2 heads of broccoli, steamed
-you could easily use frozen broccoli or swap in asparagus or Brussel sprouts
2 chicken breasts, split and pounded flat
1/2 of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons butter
2 leeks, the white parts chopped fine
0.5oz dry porcini mushrooms (or some other type of dry mushroom you might have)
-alternatively you could use up to 8oz of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped
5 small sage leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1 cup heavy cream
Instructions:
1. Steam the broccoli with your preferred method. Cook until the stems can be pierced with a fork and the crowns are soft but not mushy - you don’t want them falling apart later in the sauce. Set aside when finished.
2. Split the chicken breasts in half. Place your hand on top of it to apply pressure and use a sharp knife to cut through the breast, keeping as center a line as possible as you cut through. Between two sheets of waxed or parchment paper, pound the chicken breasts to 1/4 in thick. Squeeze the halved lemon on all over the chicken and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a skillet, heat the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted and foamed, add the leeks and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and then add the herbs and combine.
4. To the skillet add the chicken breasts over the leeks and mushrooms, cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. At first the chicken will sear and the leeks will begin to crisp and brown - that’s what you want. Flip the chicken, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes. At this point the chicken will begin releasing liquid into the pan. Check to see if chicken is done; when pierced the juice will run clear and when cut at the thickest part, it will be completely white. Cover and cook for an additional 2 minutes if it’s not quite done. When finished, remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Add the chicken or vegetable stock to the skillet along with the wine or vermouth. Boil down over medium high heat for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol and reduce a bit, 3 - 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and boil for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Check sauce for season. Then, Gently fold in the broccoli florets. Return the chicken back to the skillet along with any of the accumulated juices. Bring to the simmer, cover, and cook an additional 2 minutes over low to moderate heat to heat everything through. Serve immediately.
Roasted Gold Potatoes with Parsley
Ingredients:
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of duck fat, goose fat, or olive oil
Small bunch of parsley, chopped fine
Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. In a baking dish large enough to hold all the potatoes, rub a garlic clove all over the bottom. Lightly grease the dish using goose/duck fat, olive oil, or butter. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the diced potatoes, fat or oil, and the chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Transfer potatoes to the baking dish and roast on the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes, giving them a stir twice during their cooking. Serve with the chicken.
Everyone’s Favorite Chicken Piccata
My oldest sister will probably hate me for saying this, but it’s only because it’s true! She’s one of those really picky eaters who hates everything. A perfectly cooked risotto? It’s too “oniony” she’ll say. A beautifully prepared Coq au Vin, a true masterpiece of French cooking? It was “okay”, she’ll retort. Any amount of pepper on food? Forget about it. Fish of any kind? She’d rather starve. There’s no pleasing her when it comes to food. The irony of it all is that when we were kids she loved saying “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit!”, even though the only one ever throwing a fit about food was her. Decades later and not much has changed.
But there is one dish that even she cannot deny is perfectly delicious and that is Chicken Piccata. It’s hard not to love a breaded chicken breast doused in a buttery lemon sauce - in fact, that’s my theory of why she likes it, it’s almost a chicken strip. Of course, she hates capers (I know, I know…) so she picks those out, but aside from that I think she’d agree that Chicken Picaata is everyone’s favorite.
Chicken Piccata (serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied (split)
1 cup flour
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon water
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 large lemons), juiced and rinds reserved
1/2 cup dry white vermouth, or dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 to 2 tablespoons of capers, rinsed
Coarsely chopped parsley for serving
For the sauce thickener
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Butterfly the chicken breasts by placing your hand on top of it to apply pressure and using a sharp knife cut through the breast, keeping as center a line as possible as you cut through. Place the breasts between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out (use a rolling pin or a skillet) until the breasts are about 1/4 in thick. Season with a few grinds of salt and pepper, set aside.
2. Mix the flour with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper on a plate. On another plate, beat the eggs with the water. On a third plate, measure out the Italian bread crumbs. Beginning with the flour, coat each chicken breast and shake off any excess. Dip in the egg mixture, and then dip in the Italian bread crumbs. Set aside on a plate, and repeat the process for each chicken breast.
3. In a large skillet big enough to hold at least two of the breasts, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the olive oil is hot and shimmering but not smoking, sear the chicken breast on each side for 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a sheet pan or other type of baking dish. You might need to work in batches, doing two at a time. If the pan seems dry, add extra olive oil. When all the chicken breasts have had their turn cooking in the pan, bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
4. While the chicken is in the oven, make the sauce. Wipe out the pan (no need to rinse it). Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in the same pan over medium heat. When the foam from the butter begins to subside, add the shallot and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, vermouth or wine, chicken stock, and the lemon rinds. Boil down for about 4 - 5 minutes or long enough to boil off the alcohol. Remove from the heat and add the capers and stir in the sauce thickener. Place back on the stove and bring to a simmer, the sauce should immediately begin to thicken, about a minute or two. Remove again from heat and swirl in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
5. Plate the chicken once it’s finished in the oven. Pour sauce of each breast and sprinkle on some of the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra lemon slices. This dish is served best with roasted or mashed potatoes, and a salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
White Pepper
Instructions:
1. Peel and cut potatoes into chunks. Put potatoes in a pot and add enough cold water to cover potatoes by an inch. Add salt (this may seem like a lot but trust me on this). Bring to the boil and cook for approximately 25 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Reserve 1 cup of the potato water and drain the rest. Add 1/2 cup of the water back into the potatoes along with the stick of butter. Using a potato masher, fork, or electric mixer, smash and stir potatoes adding more water as needed for desired consistency. I prefer to leave mine smooth but with small potato chunks.
Chicken with Apple Juice and Wine Sauce
Can I just say that I love wine. I really do. The smooth, bitter taste, the slight burn on your tongue on the first sip, the mingling of grapes and alcohol conspiring a potent aroma. I love wine from France, from Italy, from Argentina.. Dark, bold red wine on chilly Autumn and Winter nights; light, white wine in the spring and summer. Best of all, it tastes great not only with food but in food as well. Some of the most famous dishes ever concocted by man are bathed in the stuff. This is good news for me, because I recently gave up that “stuff” - that being wine (and all other alcohol). At least for now, while I reassess my love for wine because it may have crossed from an innocent crush to full on infatuation. Alas, I still enjoy it as a base for the sauces in my food. This brings me to this dish - chicken with apple juice and wine sauce. Is this dish an ode to wine, you ask? It just might be. It’s sweet, it’s delicious, it’s bold. It has onions and mushrooms, and just checkout that color. Beautiful.
Chicken with wine and apple juice sauce, mushrooms, and onions (serves 2 - 4)
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
2 - 2.5 pounds chicken thighs, skin on
3 tablespoons flour (or more to lightly coat the chicken)
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
3 yellow onions
1 large shallot (or two small shallots)
1 cup good quality apple juice (100% apple juice, no added sugar)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh sage
1 large apple, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup red wine (anything you would drink, I prefer using a decent quality pinot noir)
2 Tablespoons parsley, coarsely chopped (optional)
For the mushrooms:
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (something like Baby Bella mushrooms are fine)
2 tablespoons butter
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
For the sauce thickener:
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions:
If you’re able to, let the chicken rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour to it bring closer to room temperature. This will ensure the juiciest chicken possible. If not, straight from the fridge will of course be just fine.
1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Season the chicken with a couple grinds of salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour to cover all sides, shake off any excess. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. When the butter foam has subsided, add the chicken thighs skin side down. Sear until nicely golden browned on the skin side, and remove to a plate. You may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet or Dutch Oven (don’t overcrowd the pan, that will cause your chicken to steam instead of sear).
2. Remove any burnt butter/oil, leaving the browned bits behind and turn stove down to medium. Return to heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the onions and shallots, scraping up any of the leftover chicken bits. Cook until soft and saucy, 8 minutes. Add a 1/2 cup of the apple juice and the apple cider vinegar, cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the bunch of thyme, the sprig of sage, and the garlic, and apple chunks. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, along with any juices that have accumulated. Add the remaining juice and the red wine. Bring back to the simmer then immediately place uncovered in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms including the stems if you’d like. Heat the butter on the stove in a skillet and add the sliced mushrooms once the butter foam has subsided. Cook for around 5 - 7 minutes. Shake the pan to toss the mushrooms around as they cook, or use a spatula to stir them about. Once they have released their fat back into the pan and are soft and dark brown, lightly salt and pepper the mushrooms. Set aside.
4.To give the sauce an extra thickening, prepare a “roux” made from butter and cornstarch. Take one tablespoons of softened butter and one tablespoon of cornstarch and mix in a bowl with a fork until combined. Set aside.
5. When the chicken has finished, remove from the oven and place the pan back on the stove. Remove the chicken to either a serving platter or a plate. Discard the thyme stems and the spring of sage. Bring the sauce to the simmer and add the roux, stirring until the roux is incorporated and the sauce thickens. Stir in the mushrooms and any of its juices. Either return the chicken to the pan and serve it from there, or pour the sauce over the chicken and serve on a platter. Sprinkle the parsley on top.
6. Serve with roasted or mashed potatoes.