Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 bottle plus one cup Oregon Pinot noir

1 onion cut in ½ inch dice

2 carrots cut in ½ inch dice

2 celery ribs cut in ½ inch dice

4 whole cloves

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1 bouquet garni*

1 whole chicken cut into pieces (or a combination of parts, bone in and skin on)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 tablespoon flour

¼ pound smoked bacon, cut into lardons, or ½ by 1 inch oblong strips

½ pound white mushrooms

20 pearl onions, blanched in boiling water and peeled

* Bouquet garni is a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a couple of bay leaves tied together with kitchen twine.

Directions:

A Day Ahead

Combine the bottle of Pinot noir, the diced onion, diced carrots, celery, cloves, peppercorns, and bouquet garni in a large, deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so that all of it is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Day Of Serving

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. Put it aside. Strain the marinade through a fine strainer, reserving the liquids and solids separately. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil and two tablespoons of the butter to medium high. Sear the chicken on all sides to evenly brown the skin. Once browned, remove it from the pot and set it aside again. Add the reserved onions, celery and carrots to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and golden brown. About ten minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well. Cook for about one minute. Stir in the reserved strained marinade. Put the chicken back in the pot along with the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, turn to low and cook for about one and a half hours over low heat.

While your chicken stews slowly in the pot, cook the bacon lardons in a sauté pan over medium heat until golden brown. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Make sure to leave about two tablespoons bacon grease in the pan. Sauté the mushrooms in the bacon grease until golden brown. Set aside with the bacon. In a small sauce pan, combine the pearl onions, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt and enough water to just cover the onions, and cover the pan with parchment paper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the water has evaporated. Remove the paper cover and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown. Set the onions aside and add the remaining cup of Pinot noir, scraping up all the brown fond on the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half over medium heat.

When the chicken is done, carefully remove to a deep serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into the reduced Pint noir. Add the bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions to the wine sauce, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Swirl in the remaining two tablespoons of butter and pour the sauce over the chicken.