Chicken Braised in White Wine

This meal is best described as Chicken stew. This simple braised dish gets a boos from chicken demi-glace. A secret ingredient of professional chef's, demi glace is made by simmering stock and aromatics for hours so that it develops intense, complex flavors. It can be purchased at Williams Sonoma, or at specialty gorcers. I can't always afford this pricier ingredient, so I cheat. I use half chicken bullion and half vegetable bullion (Better than Bullion brand ONLY). There really is no substitute for demi glace, but this is a good second.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 8 pieces of chicken (whatever pieces you prefer, if you use breasts, I recommend you cut them in half) 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 8 oz. white button mushrooms, quartered 3 cups white wine 2 Tbs. chicken bullion (I prefer the "Better than Bullion" brand. It's flavor is much more natural) 3 garlic cloves, crushed 4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs 3 fresh thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf 1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, cut into quarters

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 375ºF.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.

In a deep sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add half of the chicken and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Brown the remaining chicken and transfer to the plate.

Add the onion and mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine and bullion. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the demi-glace, about 5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.