Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry.Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided.1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade.1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy.1/2 pound carrots, cut diagona lly in 1-inch pieces.Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.Coq Au VinĪdapted from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics” It’s a little carb-deficient, but you can easily remedy that the way we did: by ladling the Coq Au Vin over garlic mashed potatoes. Tender chicken that falls off the bone, plenty of aromats (like onions, carrots, garlic and thyme) and a rich red wine sauce. Literally “chicken in wine,” Coq Au Vin is a classic French dish featuring chicken pieces cooked in red wine with pork, mushrooms, onions, garlic, brandy and fresh thyme. That’s when I finally realized what my professor knew years ago – that my “French” accent sounds more like Justin Wilson than Catherine Deneuve. Until Jeff started repeating my pronunciation of Coq Au Vin. So, I was very excited when Ina Garten’s Coq Au Vin was chosen as one of this month’s Barefoot Bloggers recipes, because it gave me the chance to show off my mad French skills. And I could REMEMBER them! Soon, I could tell her that I’d played with gateau, fromage and le dessert. This went on until the day she started teaching the French words for foods. And she had mercy on my non-French speaking soul and moved on to the next person, whose eyes are probably permanently rolled to this day. En français.Įvery day, I’d give her the same answer: “J’ai joué” (“I played”). What I didn’t count on was the professor stopping by our desks every day to ask us what we’d done the day before. But I thought I might be able to remember enough to pass if my quizzes were every other day instead of once a week. Up to that point, everything I knew about French could be summed up in three words: Pepé Le Pew. I took accelerated French classes when I was in college.

Alton brown coq au vin