Coq au Vin, My Way

Recently, Violet brought a guest here, Rowland, who made us the most amazing dish. It was warm, and hardy, delicious, and decadent. It felt like medicinal food, able to cure any ailment, physical, mental, imagined. And so, after coming into some grocery money for splurging on food beyond beans and flour for bread, I thought now--the weather so perfectly crisp and a bottle of Chardonnay on hand that I wasn't particularly interested in drinking--might be a good time to try my hand at the dish, sans any real recipe.

Coq au Vin (Blanc and Bastardized)

2 chicken thigh-and-leg portions, bone-in, legs and thighs separated

a couple of chicken breast tenders

a bunch of carrots (6 or so), sliced thick

3-4 celery stocks, sliced thick

2 potatoes, cut into thick hunks (I left the skins on because I think it adds flavor, but if this was truly French, I think I'd have to do that thing where I not only peel the potatoes, but also shape them into perfect ovals)

2 onions, waywardly chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

a handful of coarsely chopped parsley

a tablespoon or two of corn starch

1 bottle White Wine (cheaper the better)

water

a glug of chicken stock to get things started

s & p

Dredge the chicken parts in flour that is generously salted and peppered, brown parts in 1 tbsp olive oil in pan over high heat until browned on all sides. Remove to a big stock pot, use drippings in pan to saute onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Remove to stock pot. Pour a little wine (1/2 cup or so) in pan to deglaze; scrape, and pour whatever you get into stock pot. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, s & p, and bottle of wine. Cook on high until boiling, lower heat, add some water and chicken stock (until covering the veg) and cook, covered, on low, until veg are soft. At some point, add the corn starch to a small bit of the liquid, and then add the mix to the pot. Add parsley before removing from heat, reserve some for garnish. Remove chicken from the bone (optional).

What I would do differently next time:
I would make it just a little less soupy by using a touch more wine and less water... in attempt to make a light sauce rather than a broth. But soupy is good. Trust me. Even though I didn't know what I was doing, and my inspiration for this classic French recipe came from a West Virginian cabinet maker, it was a complete success.