Weeknight Coq au Vin

Red wine and chicken -  what a great match-up.  Reducing the liquid at the end gives the wine a really nice intensity.  I poured the sauce over everything - vegetables, chicken and potatoes.  If you don't have brandy on hand, don't go out and buy a whole bottle.  It only calls for 1 tablespoon.  You can simply omit it (I did) or use something else, say Marsala or Port or even just add more red wine.

 One criticism:  although the dish itself is delicious, its appearance is drab (see photo).  You can't even tell the difference between white and dark meat.

(August 6, 2018) This time, I used white wine.  The sauce was delicious.

4 servings

12 calculated points

(red wine sauce)

(white wine sauce)

Malbec

Ingredients

• 2 bacon slices, chopped
• 4 (4-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 4 (4-ounce) chicken drumsticks, skinned
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1½ cups sliced mushrooms
• 1½ cups dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• ½ cup chopped shallots
• ½ cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons parsley, mushrooms, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

2. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon; keep warm. Bring cooking liquid to a boil; cook until reduced to 3 cups (about 6 minutes). Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.