C'est Magnifique!

Thanks to the Pioneer Woman we now have a new favorite dish in our house. I tried Coq au Vin and it was a success. You can't really go wrong with a recipe that has wine as it's main ingredient. The recipe calls for Burgundy but I decided to use Cavernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir would be good as well.


The only thing in this recipe that didn't go over so well with my kids were the mushrooms. They just can't get used to the texture of them.
I had to pull out the cute dishes for this!

Whatever you do, don't use a non stick skillet. I used a big stainless steel one, it allows all of those good browned bits to stick to the pan. When you deglaze with wine, stir 'em all up. Yum!!

• 1 whole Fryer Chicken
  
• 4 slices Bacon, Cut Into Small Pieces
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Diced
• ½ cups Carrots, Washed, Peeled, And Roughly Chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 pound White Mushrooms, Sliced
• 2 cups Burgundy Wine
• 1 pound Pasta (egg Noodles Or Fettucini)
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• Parsley, Fresh, Minced
• Salt And Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Saute bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium low heat until fat is rendered. Remove bacon from the skillet and set aside. Increase heat to medium.

Salt fat side of chicken pieces, then place chicken, fat side down, in skillet and cook in bacon grease until both sides are nice and golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside in a 2-quart baking dish, skin side up.

Saute onions, carrots and garlic in bacon grease until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Remove from grease with slotted spoon and set aside.

In a separate skillet, saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter until golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Layer half of the bacon pieces, carrot/onion mixture, and mushrooms in pan with chicken.

Drain grease from the large skillet, then place over medium heat. Pour in 2 cups Burgundy wine, using a wire whisk to scrape loose all the burned/brown bits. Lightly salt liquid and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with 2 tablespoons butter.

Serve chicken in a pasta bowl with noodles, sprinkling minced parsley over the top. Spoon juice from baking dish over the top of everything.