Resolution... is the Sound of Frying Bacon

If I were to name my biggest flaw, it would be that I can never seem to finish anything I start. Just to name a few off the top of my head, I still have not yet...

• Learn how to play the guitar
• Make cornbread that doesn't taste like crap
• Take art classes I told myself I would sign up for years ago
• Take photography classes I told myself I would sign up for years ago
• Get off my ass and look for a job
• Write/maintain a food blog

Well, I guess it's never to late to finish what one has started, and with college applications sent off, my first semester of senior year finished, and A LOT less stress now that I know I can moderately dgaf (to not give an eff) in schoolwork, I feel that it is time to begin checking things off that list and start blogging again. (Note: I should add learn how to write shorter sentences to that list.)


Frying Bacon Pieces (I think lardons would be 10x better)

It's hard for me to believe that I made this blog almost a year and a half ago. Right now I wonder, if I actually kept at it how much I would've accomplished in terms of improving my food photography skills and having a reader other than my cousin. But here I am, and ready to not start over, but just continue what I started.

Sausages seared and ready. I used mild Italian this time, though the next time I make this I'll try one of a smoked variety.
And yes, I use paper plates when i cook

I have to say this dish is a bit time consuming, but do admit this has to be my favorite dish I've come up with for a long time- essentially a bastardization of coq au vin and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

Browning the garlic (This is when you turn the fan on high)

Now if you were cooking for a normal-sized family, you most likely won't run into any problems. However, since there was a family dinner today, I had to make enough to feed 25 adults. As a result, all of the fond (are as Anne Burrell calls it, CRUD), began to burn as a result of searing a triple batch of every ingredient. If this happens to you, just add some broth or water to the pan, scrape all of it off until the plan is clean, and save that liquid in a cup to use later in the recipe.

Frying chicken pieces- dark meat only!

G.B.D. (Golden Brown and Delicious)


Pile everything together

One thing I regret doing is slicing the sausage before braising them, as they dried out a little bit after spending such a long time in the oven even though they were being braised.

Simmering the braising liquid

Out of the oven

Coq Au Vin with 40 Cloves of Garlic and Braised Sausage

*Note* there isn't a an exact recipe for this, so these are all guestimations. Don't follow the measurements to the t, but instead judge for yourself how much you think you need

For maybe 4 very large servings

• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
  
• Bacon: 5-6 strips cut into pieces
  
• Sausage: 1 substantial link per person, so 4; leave them whole
  
• Peeled garlic cloves: as much as you see fit, so a couple handfulls, let's just say 3-4 heads
• Chicken legs and thighs: 2 pieces per person
• Flour: enough to dredge
• Small waxy potatoes (such as baby reds or fingerlings): as many as you want
  
• Cognac or Brandy: a couple splashes just to deglaze the pan
• Carrots: 2-3, cut into 3rds
• Celery: 2-3 stalks, cut into thirds
• Yellow onion: quartered
• Bay Leaf: 1-2, depending on how much liquid you end up with in the pot
• Thyme: Let's just say 5 or 6 sprigs
• Tomato Paste: 2-3 heaping tablespoons
• Red Wine: 1 1/2 to 2 cups
• Beef Broth: enough so that the braising liquid covers the chicken- let's say 2-3 cups?
• Crusty Baguettes to eat with

Start off by frying the bacon- we're using it mainly to render the fat. Even though we're adding the pieces back in after they've been braising for 2 hours you probably won't even notice any actual bacon pieces in the dish. After they're nice and crispy, take them out of then pan and let them drain on a paper towel. Next start searing your sausages, however many you choose to use, until they also get nice and brown. After those are done, take them out and add your garlic. You want to turn your heat lower this time, because seared garlic = bitter flavor. So turn your heat down a little and leave them alone for a while. Also, as stated above if during the cooking process you find your crud starting to burn, deglaze the plan with some water and scrape it off, and save the liquid for later in the recipe.

Meanwhile, season your chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and then give them a light dredge in the flour.

Take out your garlic and boost the heat up a little so you can get a nice crust on your chicken pieces. Add your chicken pieces and pan fry them in the fat until they're nice and golden. Once they've attained that desirable crust, evacuate them and set them on top of your piling mass of ingredients.

If you want potatoes in your stew, toss those in after the chicken is done and sear those for a bit until their skins get crisp with some salt and pepper, and take those out as well after they're done bronzing up. Drain off all the fat save for maybe a tablespoon or two. Keep the heat on high, and add your aromatics: the onion, celery, and carrot. You want to get them really brown to add even more fond to the pan. Finally, after sauteeing 5 different items, deglaze the pan with shots of cognac, scraping off those 5 layers of fond (the aromatics are still in the pan at this point). Add the tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, and red wine and let that boil away for a couple minutes to get rid of a little bit of the that acidity. Once that's happened, add beef stock until you think you have enough liquid to submerge everything you're going to put back in later. Let this mahogany-red broth simmer for a while, maybe 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.. Because the celery/onion/carrot aren't going to be in the final dish, we're trying to extract as much of their flavor as possible. Oh yeah, and don't forget to throw in any fond/deglazing liquid you may or may not have made.

During this time, start cleaning up the dishes I'm sure have accumulated in the sink, and preheat the oven to 275-300F, whatever temperature you're feel like cooking at that day.

Once you think the braising liquid seems ready, take out the celery/onion/tomato, and add everything you seared earlier back into the pot: the bacon, sausage, garlic, chicken, and potatoes in no particular order. Chuck those in the oven for let's say 2 hours, or until both your potatoes and chicken are tender.

After you take that whole assembly out of the oven, don't celebrate yet because you still have one more step. Your sauce is going to be a little thin and sometimes a bit acidic, so evacuate everything out of the pot, and start reducing away the liquid on high heat. You'll also notice a bunch of fat on the surface, so skim off as much as you can. Now you have to be careful, because sometimes your sauce might get too salty before it reaches the desired thickness. If this happens to you (it probably will), you can do things: add a splash of cream, and then take some of the fat you skimmed off and mix it with equal parts all-purpose flour. Whisk that into a paste and whisk into the bubbling liquid, and soon enough you'll have a thick, satiny sauce. Slice up your sausages, transfer everything back into the pot, and finally sit down to enjoy a meal that most likely took you 4 hours to make, and 2 hours to clean up.

You can thank me later.