Coq-Au-Vin

I don't know if I mentioned it or not but I got Tony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook for Christmas from my very awesome (almost) brother-in-law Adam aka Mr Envirocraftiness.  Does he know me or what? Not only do I love to cook but I freakin' LOVE Mr. Bourdain.  He is like the epitome of cool.  So badass!

This recipe isn't from that cookbook (there is a coq-au-vin recipe in there that I will have to try eventually), but I am feeling more adventurous after trying this traditional French dish!

What You'll Need

8-12 skinless chicken thighs

1 tbsp butter

1 cup (or more) button mushrooms

1 cup sliced onion

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepepr

2 bay leaves

2 tbls tomato paste

2 cups dry red wine

1-2 cups chicken broth

Clean up your chicken thighs removing excess fat (if you're weird like me).  I've never cooked with anything except boneless skinless breasts so this adventure into thighs was interesting.  I found a pretty good chunk of bone in one; then I got all crazy about checking for bone in each thigh.  I also halved the thighs.

In a deep, heavy, skillet heat the butter and brown the chicken.  I like to sear my chicken so I cranked that heat.  They're gonna simmer forever in the sauce so DO NOT cook through.  Once browned, remove from skillet and place on a plate.

Add the mushrooms and half of the onions.  

Fry over medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned.  Remove from skillet.

Add remaining onions, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaves to the skillet and cook until the onions are softened (I added some butter to facilitate the cooking).  Once the onions are softened stir in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute.

Add the wine and the broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat, scraping any brown bits.  

Oh, and just for a little reality check, here's what my kitchen looked like as I was elbow deep in the adventure. Mr Bourdain would be displeased with my Mis en Place.  So was I.

Return the chicken and any juices on the plate to the skillet.  Reduce the heat but maintain a gentle simmer.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Then add in the mushroom onion mixture to the skillet and continue to cook, covered, until the sauce thickens (you may need to add some flour/cornstarch), about 25 minutes.  While the chicken was cooking I cleaned up the rest of the thighs and froze them into packages.

I chose to serve this hearty meal with garlic mashed potatoes to soak up the delicious au-jus.  And because I need something green in every meal I also had broccoli.

Mmmmm! So delicious.  So hearty.  A great change from the typical stew, chilli or soup that we love to indulge in during this chilly weather.