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Coq au Vin Blanc

As much as I adore Paris and the quiet precision of French cuisine, it is rare for me to cook French dishes at home. In Los Angeles, with restaurants like Bicyclette serving beautifully executed classics, I am usually content to leave that kind of culinary mastery to professionals. Still, every so often, a dish invites itself into my kitchen. Coq au Vin Blanc happens to be one of them.

Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me.

Despite its reputation, it is a remarkably approachable dish once you understand the quiet secret behind it. One might assume the key lies in selecting the perfect white wine—and while that certainly helps—the real magic comes from cooking it in a Dutch oven. My personal preference is a pot from LE CREUSET, though it is admittedly an investment. Fortunately, more accessible options exist, including those from Martha Stewart, which perform the task just as faithfully.

INGREDIENTS
[serves 4]
four bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs
two ounces of pancetta
one shallot, diced
a quarter of yellow onion, diced
four garlic cloves, sliced
five cremini (or button) mushrooms, sliced
four sprigs of thyme
one cup of dry white wine
one cup of chicken broth
two tablespoons of butter

Heat a Dutch oven over high heat and add the pancetta. Sauté and let them crisp. Remove from the Dutch oven and place them on a plate. Next, reduce heat to medium-high and place chicken thighs in the Dutch oven with pancetta fat. Cook on each side for five minutes and remove from the Dutch oven.


Add shallot, onions, and garlic cloves to the Dutch oven. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon and coat them well with the fat from pancetta and chicken thighs until the onions start to become translucent. Add cooked pancetta and chicken thighs, and stir to mix.

Add mushrooms, thyme, white wine, and chicken broth. Stir to mix, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes covered with the lid. Remove the lid, add butter, flip the chicken, and cook for ten minutes. And, voilà! You have delightfully delicious Coq au Vin Blanc to serve with a baguette.

Paris, France

Wine Tip
Dry white wines commonly used in cooking include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscadet, Albariño, Pinot Grigio, Soave, Picpoul, and Grenache Blanc. I recommend Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for cooking. While Sauvignon Blanc is known to add a crisp, fruity, floral, and herb flavor to vegetables, Chardonnay was used for this recipe since it is known to pair with poultry.

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