This Is No Vin Ordinaire - Suzanne Goin's Coq Au Vin With Bacon, Potato Puree, Cipollini Onions and Wild Mushrooms

One of the reviews I read when Goin's A.O.C Cookbook came out seemed to be complaining that her recipes are several pages long and have huge numbers of ingredients. It's definitely not weekday food, but the precision of those several-page-long instructions enables the decent home cook to turn out something truly fabulous and probably quite like it turns out at her restaurants.

The precision demystifies certain steps like making bacon lardons. Most folks who aren't foodies don't know what a lardon is, despite Mario Batali making them his cause. But voilà! Lardon solved below! She includes timing steps for the important task of making sure the oil in the pan is hot enough before you add things. She's PRECISE!

I selected Coq Au Vin for February 14. I love cooking with the Colonel because I can assign the onions to him! Kitchen serf! Although he does tend to get a little fancy when it comes to place settings. I have no table linens, but have some cute kitchen towels. Oh, look who showed up? Mr. Napkin Ring.

Serve with good crusty bread to sop up the juices. Mangia!

Coq Au Vin with Bacon, Potato Purée, Cipollini Onions, and Wild Mushrooms 

from The A.O.C. Cookbook by Suzanne Goin

6 chicken legs with thighs attached

2 tbsp. thyme leaves plus 4 springs

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley plus 3 sprigs

18 cipollini onions or 3 doz. pearl onions

5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

10 oz. slab applewood smoked bacon

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2 cups red wine

4 cups chicken stock

1 pound wild mushrooms, torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces (Goin calls for black trumpet, but I've never seen those here, went with a selection from Ralphs and some oyster shrooms from the funky Asian fish market nearby)
2 tbsp. butter

1 recipe Potato Puree (recipe follows)

Season chicken with 1 tbsp. thyme leaves and 2 tbsp. parsley. Marinate for at least 4 hours. Bring to room temperature for about an hour before cooking. Season with S & P.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the unpeeled cipollinis into quarters and toss them with 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1/2 tbsp. thyme leaves, S & P (if using pearl onions, don't cut them). Roast n a baking sheet for about 15 minutes, cool and slip off peels. Set aside.

Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Cut two thick 2 oz. pieces of bacon from the slab and set aside.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat, add 2 tbsp. olive oil and wait for it to heat, about 1 minute. Add chicken legs skin side down and cook until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Swirl the fat around the pan every so often. You may have to do this in batches so the legs aren't crowded. (You want them browned, not steamed. Very important!) Turn the legs over and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to braising dish large enough to hold the legs in one layer.

Pour off some of the fat and return the heat to medium.Add onion, carrots, celery, dried porcinis, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and the two thick pieces of bacon. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes until vegetables are lightly caramelized. Add tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, scraping pan with a wooden spoon. Add the red wine,turn up the heat to high and reduce by half. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Pour the broth and vegetables over the chicken, scraping any of the vegetables that fell on chicken back into the liquid. The liquid should not quite cover the chicken. Tuck parsley sprigs around the chicken and cover with a tight fitting lid. Braise in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, slice the bacon into 3/8" pieces. Stack the pieces into two piles and slice them crosswise into 3/8" rectangular lardons. Heat a large saute pan and add remaining olive oil and after a minute lardons. Saute over medium heat until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Take off heat and set aside.

Check the chicken for doneness by removing the lid carefully (steam) and piercing a piece with a paring knife. Meat should give easily but not be falling off the bone. (They're going to finish a bit more in the next step, don't worry) Turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Transfer chicken to baking sheet and return to oven to brown for about 10 minutes.

Strain broth into a sauce pan, pressing down on the vegetables to extract all the juices. If necessary, reduce the broth over medium high heat to slightly thicken it, about 5 minutes.

Return bacon in pan to high heat. Wait two minutes and add butter. When it foams, add wild mushrooms, the remaining thyme, and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Add the onions and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until onions are a little crispy.

Spoon potato puree into bowls and top with chicken. Ladle braising juices over. Add the remaining chopped parsley to the mushroom mixture and spoon it over the tops of the bowls.

Potato Puree

1 1/2 lb. Russet potatoes
1 1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 sticks butter
Salt

Place the potatoes, whole and unpeeled. Add 2 tbsp. salt and fill the pot with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to low, simmering for about 45 minutes. Check for doneness because one type of potato may be done before the other.

Drain them and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Heat the cream and milk together over medium heat, do not allow to boil or scald. When heated, take off heat. Peel cooled potatoes and pass them through a food mill or ricer. (Or you could just use a sieve or just mash them finely. I don't have room for a ricer or food mill. I ranted about this in the Short Ribs post. You can just mash them if you'd prefer. No one will tell.). Put the riced potatoes in heavy pot. Heat over medium heat a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, to dry them out a little. Add the butter, stirring constantly.

When all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the cream mixture until you have a smooth puree. Taste for seasoning.