Coq au vin (Jacques Pepin)

Cut off the wings and cut them at the joints into three pieces each; cut the chicken into four pieces and remove the spine.

Skin and bone the breasts, keeping the knife close to the bone.

Skin the legs, cut the tip off the drumstick, cut down each side of the thigh bone and slide the knife under it, then scrape the meat down the drumstick and pull the bone out.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a pan and add 12 peeled pearl onions, half a cup of water and half a teaspoon of sugar.

Glaze the onions on all sides, shaking and stirring until the water has evaporated and they start to fry.

Add four quartered large mushrooms and saute one minute, then cover and set aside off the heat.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven, brown the chicken wing pieces on all sides, then the legs.

Add the breast meat last and cook two minutes, then remove all the meat.

Saute one third cup of finely chopped onion in the drippings for a minute.

Add three cloves of finely chopped garlic and saute 10 seconds only.

Add one and a half cups of red wine to deglaze, scraping up the fond.

Add the thyme sprig, the bay leaves, three quarter teaspoon salt and three quarter teaspoon black pepper.

Bring to a boil, return the legs and wing pieces, cover and boil five minutes.

Add the breast meat, season, turn the heat down to a gentle boil and cover six minutes.

Dissolve one teaspoon potato starch in two teaspoons red wine.

Stir the dissolved starch into the pan juices until thickened, then add the mushrooms and onions with their juices.

Remove the crusts from day old white bread and cut each slice diagonally into two triangles.

Spread two tablespoons of cooking oil on a baking sheet and turn each crouton in it to moisten both sides.

Bake at 400F for eight to 10 minutes until nicely browned.

Cut each triangle into a heart-shaped crouton, dip the tip in the coq au vin sauce and then in chopped parsley.

Cut the chicken breasts and legs in half and return them to the pot; remove the bay leaves and add chopped parsley.

Serve one breast piece, a chicken leg, part of the wing, onions, mushrooms, sauce and two croutons.