Coq Au Vin
2 lbs chicken legs (you can use almost any other part of chicken as well)
3 large carrots, roughly cut
5 spring onions, roughly cut
1 box of whole brown mushrooms, sliced
Half a bottle of dry red wine
1 large swig of cognac or whiskey
3 thick slices of bacon, cut into squares
2 cups chicken stock
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour for thickening
Half a lemon
Handful of fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Potato Gratin
3 lbs Russet Potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
Ample gruyere or cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Handful of fresh thyme
Serves Four Total Time: 70 minutes
Coq Au Vin
Add bacon and splash of olive oil to large pot over medium heat and cook for about 8 minutes. Season chicken thoroughly with salt and pepper. Then remove bacon from pot and add chicken in batches, depending how big pot is, to brown it. Take out chicken and add in onion, carrots and garlic. Then deglaze pan with the cognac or whiskey. Continuing cooking over medium heat, add chicken and bacon back in, then pour in red wine, chicken stock and place in thyme. Cover pot and cook at a steady simmer for about 40 minutes. Mix softened butter and flour together into mixture, then add to pot after 40 minutes are up, along with spring onions. Simmer closed for another 10 minutes. Sautee mushrooms in pan with some butter over high heat for about 3 minutes, mix with the lemon juice, then add mushrooms to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes. Take out thyme and serve.
Potato Gratin
Cut the potatoes into thin slices, about 1/4 of a centimeter thick and place in a pot along with the milk, heavy cream and garlic. Let the potatoes sit for about 10 minutes. You can also set the pot on the stove and bring them to a light simmer for about 5 minutes.
Lay out the potato slices horizontally in a glass baking dish and add the slices of cheese in between layers and on top of the potatoes.
Pour the milk, cream and garlic into the baking dish so that they fill it about halfway up. Add the thyme on top and bake for at least 40 minutes at 375 degrees.
