Coq Au Cidre (cider Chicken)

We take 100,000,000 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly…Blindfold a man and tell him…he must pick up one silver dollar…What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have of writing…eight prophecies and having them come true in any one man.

Peter Stoner

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats, Grains		Casseroles, Poultry	4	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	oz	Slab bacon, cut in 1/2' dice
1	T	Peanut oil
3 1/2	lb	Chicken, skin & fat removed
		cut in 8 pieces
		Salt and freshly ground
		black pepper to taste
4		Onions, thinly sliced
1		Clove garlic, finely chopped
2 3/4	c	Sparkling dry apple cider
		1 lb. 5 oz.
1/3	c	Calvados or brandy, 1 lb. 5
		oz.
8		Prunes, pitted
1		Bouquet garni***
6		Sprigs parsley
4		Sprigs fresh thyme, OR
1/2	t	Dried thyme leaves
2		Bay leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

To make Bouquet Garni: Tie together with kitchen string or put in a
cheesecloth bag.  Preheat oven to 325Ã¸F. In a deep ovenproof skillet
with a lid, brown  bacon over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes, and
transfer to paper  towels to drain. Pour off any fat in the pan. Add
1/2 tablespoon of  the peanut oil to the pan and brown chicken over
high heat, about 3  minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate,
season with salt  and pepper and set aside.  Add the remaining 1/2
tablespoon oil to the pan, reduce heat to low  and add onions.  Cook,
stirring ocasionally, until the onions are  very tender and golden,
about 25 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook  for 1 minute. Pour in cider
and calvados or brandy and bring to a  boil.  Add prunes, bouquet garni
and the reserved bacon and chicken.  Cover and bake until the chicken
is very tender and no longer pink  inside, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove
the bouquet garni. Taste and  adjust seasonings before serving.  NOTES
: Brittany, like Normancy to the north, produces a great deal  of ci=
der for local consumption.  It was an old Breton tradition to  serve
COQ A= U CIDRE  to friends and workers after framing a new  home.
Recipe by: Eating Well (Oct. 1994) page 65  Posted to recipelu-digest
by Nesb2@aol.com on Feb 6, 1998

A Message from our Provider:

“Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it. #A.W. Tozer”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 157 Calories From Fat: 53 Total Fat: 5.8g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 1293.8mg Potassium: 572.1mg Carbohydrates: 16.3g Fiber: 2.8g Sugar: 7.5g Protein: 9.8g