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Coq au Vin serves 6-8

4 oz. lean bacon chopped

10" skillet
2 tbsp. cooking oil
 
Cut bacon into sticks 1inch long and ¼ inch across.  Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water, drain,

rinse in cold water, and dry.  Sauté slowly in skillet with the oil.  When bacon is very lightly browned,

remove to a side dish, leaving fat in pan.
 
2 ½ lbs. 3 lbs. fryer (cut in 8 pieces)

Large Dutch oven
½ tsp salt,¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup cognac
 
Dry chicken thoroughly with a towel.  Brown on all sides in the hot fat (360 degrees).  Season chicken

with salt and pepper, return bacon to pan, cover pan and cook slowly (300 degrees) for 10 minutes,

turning chicken once.  Then uncover, pour in cognac, ignite with a lighted match,

shake pan back and forth for several seconds until flames subside.
 
3 cups Burgundy, Macon, Chianti, or California Mountain Red wine
2 cups beef stock,1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic, ¼ tsp thyme,1 bay leaf
 
Pour wine into pan, and add just enough bouillon to cover the chicken.  Stir in tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. 

Bring to the simmer, then cover and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes, or until chicken meat is

tender when pierced with a fork. 
 
12 to 24 small white onions
Salt to taste
1 to 2 Tb cooking oil

While chicken is cooking, drop onions into boiling water, bring water back to the boil, and let boil for

1 minute.  Drain, shave off to ends of onions, peel carefully, and pierce a deep cross in the root end with a

small knife (to keep onions whole during cooking).  Heat oil in a frying pan, add onions, and toss for several

minutes until lightly browned.  Add water to halfway up onions and ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, cover pan,

and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until onions are tender when pierced with a knife.
 
1 lb. fresh button mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
½ tbsp. cooking oil
 
Trim base of mushroom stems, remove base from stems, wash stems and caps rapidly in cold water

and dry in a towel.  Cut caps into quarters, stems into bias chunks (to resemble, roughly, the cut caps). 

Heat butter and oil in frying pan; when bubbling hot, toss in mushrooms and sauté over high heat

for 4 to 5 minutes until lightly browned. 
 
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. softened butter
 
When chicken is done, drain out cooking liquid into a saucepan.  Skim off fat and boil down liquid, if necessary,

to concentrate flavor.  You should have about 2 ¼ cups.  Remove from heat.  Blend butter and flour together

in a small bowl; beat into the cooking liquid with wire whip.  Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for

a minute or two until sauce has thickened.  Scrape onions and mushrooms into sauce and simmer

a minute to blend flavors.  Carefully taste sauce, adding more salt and pepper if you feel it necessary. 

Then pour sauce over chicken.  (Chicken is now ready for final reheating, but can be set aside until cool,

then covered and refrigerated for a day or two.)

Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting chicken with sauce.  Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes,

until chicken is hot through. (Do not overcook at this point!)