Christmas Countdown Day 3: Three French Hens

So today something suddenly snapped and I found myself in the Christmas spirit - yay! Unfortunately, all this really means is I start spending money on Christmas-y things that are surely not very practical and I listen to hours and hours of Christmas music, but whatever - as long as I'm happy! :)

Feeling once again motivated to continue this countdown, for today's challenge of 3 french hens, I chose to conquer...coq au vin! Now the silly thing about this challenge is that not only do I not know how to make coq au vin, I've never even had it before! But no worries - I took the name and just went with it.

...and also I perused a few recipes online, but they seemed to take way too long so I just went my own route.

I didn't have any bacon, pork belly, or pork lard on hand, so I chose to just melt 3 tbsp of butter in a pan and throw in some onions and shallots. Once caramelized, I added in my chicken thighs and let them cook for about 10 minutes. During those 10 minutes, I prepared my tomatoes, celery, and mushrooms.

After adding in the vegetables, I added a dash of salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme and let the combo stew on medium heat for about 20 minutes. I then poured in 2 cups of pinot noir (and drank the rest of the bottle!), tasted, and realized it was missing a little something. So I added in 5 cloves of diced garlic, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, and another 1/2 tsp of garlic powder...just in case...and let stew for 30 minutes.

After letting the sauce reduce (if not already reduced, heat on high for about 10 minutes), I threw everything into the oven at 350 F for about 45 minutes. If you have any onion or mushrooms left, toss them into the pan!

After finished baking, remove from the oven and serve. Bon appetit!