"Drenched in Wine"

Do you remember that taste...the moment it touches your tongue, the tartness that strikes you right off the bat, the sensation that encircles your palate and transforms your rainy day to the moment of cocoa victory? Once you take a second sip, the one bite of your food rawness muscles into a spectacular flavor of refined material. Hold the thought of chocolate for a moment and venture our craving into the nectar called wine.
 

Do you have one--a local joint where you can walk in, tell the owner what your desire is and he grants you, your match in wine? I am talking about your local wine shop. Well, I did find one in Wake Forest called Wine 101. It is a hole in a wall, but the selection is grand and the price does not sink your wallet. Our local purveyor hooked us up with a red wine from Chateau Tour Boisee, from the Minervois region of Languedoc in southern France, to be served with my Coq au Vin. It is a mixture of Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan and Syrah grapes.

A rainy day like today, one can only be comforted by the transfer flavor from wine to food and the prolonged heat that lingers on the dish like "Coq Au Vin". Time allows the chicken to absorb the wine so that it can become something else other than its own...Besides I don't have to fill up my bathtub with wine to loosen up while managing to feed the holiday visitors.

There are many hypotheses about where "Coq au Vin" originated from, Caesars or Napoleon, who knows. I used an Italian wine, Sangiovese from Puglia to marinate the chicken thighs and drumstick. White meat will dry up during the cooking process.

Marinate 1 day in advance 4 chicken thighs and 6 drumsticks with 1/2 bottle of red wine, few sprigs of thyme, salt, pepper and 5 bay leaves. Keep it in the fridge.

In a Dutch oven, pan fry 8 oz. chopped Speck with 2 tbsp of olive oil for about 5 min., using medium hi heat.
Add 12 pearl onion and 8 oz. mushroom to brown
Empty the pan and add 2 tbsp of butter and olive oil
Remove the chicken from the marinate, season with salt and pepper and Brown all sides then Remove from the heat
Add 1/4 cup of flour to the oil
Deglaze with 1 cup of brandy and the marinate
Add 1 - 8 oz can of tomato purée and 2 tbspn of sugar
Add 4 cups of chicken stock
Add chicken and the rest of the ingredient
Bring it to boil and cook for 45 min. on medium heat.

Don't forget your French wine. Cheers!
Teera